[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 84 (Wednesday, April 30, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23361-23362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9522]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket No. 03-123; DA 08-478]


Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Clarifies the 
Eligibility Requirement for Compensation From the Interstate 
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund for Providers of Internet 
Protocol Captioned Telephone Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Clarification.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau 
(Bureau) clarifies the eligibility requirement for compensation from 
the TRS Fund (Fund) for providers of Internet Protocol (IP) captioned 
telephone service (IP CTS). The Bureau also clarifies that an IP CTS 
provider seeking compensation from the Fund must notify the Interstate 
TRS Fund administrator 30 days prior to the date the provider submits 
minutes for payment.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Chandler, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office at (202) 418-1475 
(voice), (202) 418-0597 (TTY), or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Bureau's public 
notice DA 08-478, released February 28, 2008 in CG Docket No. 03-123. 
The full text of DA 08-478 and copies of any subsequently filed 
documents in this matter will be available for public inspection and 
copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information 
Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 
20554. DA 08-478 and copies of subsequently filed documents in this 
matter also may be purchased from the Commission's duplicating 
contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact the Commission's 
duplicating contractor at its Web site http://www.bcpiweb.com or by 
calling 1-800-378-3160. To request materials in accessible formats for 
people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio 
format), send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or (202) 418-0432 
(TTY). DA 08-478 also can be downloaded in Word or Portable Document 
Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html#orders.

Synopsis

    On January 11, 2007, the Commission released Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Internet-based Captioned Telephone 
Service, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory Ruling, 22 FCC Rcd 379 (IP 
CTS Declaratory Ruling), published at 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007. In 
the IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, the Commission recognized IP CTS as a 
form of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund. Because the Bureau 
has received questions concerning the manner in which IP CTS providers 
may be eligible for compensation from the

[[Page 23362]]

Fund, the Bureau issues this clarification.
    The Commission's eligibility rules set forth in 47 CFR 
64.604(c)(5)(iii)(F) provide that TRS providers eligible for receiving 
payments from the Interstate TRS Fund must be:
    (1) TRS facilities operated under contract with and/or by certified 
state TRS programs pursuant to section 64.605 of the Commission's 
rules; or
    (2) TRS facilities owned by or operated under contract with a 
common carrier providing interstate services operated pursuant to 
section 64.604 of the Commission's rules; or
    (3) Interstate common carriers offering TRS pursuant to section 
64.604 of the Commission's rules; or
    (4) Video Relay Service (VRS)[, * * *] Internet Protocol (IP) Relay 
* * *[, and IP CTS] providers certified by the Commission pursuant to 
section 64.605 of the Commission's rules.
    The fourth eligibility criterion--certification by the Commission--
was adopted in Telecommunications Relay Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Report and Order 
and Order on Reconsideration, 20 FCC Rcd 20577 (2005) (2005 IP Relay/
VRS Certification Order), published at 71 FR 2942, January 18, 2006. 
Prior to that time, there was no federal certification process for 
relay providers seeking compensation from the Fund; the regulations 
provided only for the certification of state TRS programs. See 
generally Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech 
Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC 
Docket Nos. 90-571 and 98-67, CG Docket No. 03-123, Report and Order, 
Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 
(2004 TRS Report and Order), 19 FCC Rcd 12475, 12516, paragraph 99 
(2004), published at 69 FR 53346 and 69 FR 53382, September 1, 2004.
    The Commission has interpreted the third eligibility criterion--an 
interstate common carrier offering TRS pursuant to section 64.604--to 
apply only to common carriers ``offering telephone voice transmission 
services that are obligated to provide TRS in a state that does not 
have a certified TRS program.'' 2004 TRS Report and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 
at 12517, paragraph 103, note 304. As the Commission explained in the 
2005 IP Relay/VRS Certification Order:

    The third eligibility category--``Interstate common carriers 
offering TRS pursuant to Sec.  64.604''--has been the means by which 
some entities that are not voice telephone service providers have 
sought to offer VRS, and not the other forms of TRS, and be 
compensated for doing so from the Interstate TRS Fund. The 
Commission previously construed [in the 2004 TRS Report and Order] 
the third eligibility prong, however, as applying to common carriers 
obligated to provide TRS in a state that does not have a certified 
program. Because we now adopt a fourth eligibility criterion, which 
will allow common carriers seeking to offer VRS or IP Relay and 
receive compensation to do so without being part of a certified 
state program or contracting with an entity that is, it is not 
necessary at this time to revisit this construction of the third 
eligibility category. 2005 IP Relay/VRS Certification Order, 20 FCC 
Rcd at 20587, paragraph 18.

    Against this background, in the IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, the 
Commission expressly addressed the manner in which IP CTS providers may 
be eligible for compensation from the Fund. The Commission concluded 
that ``an entity desiring to provide IP captioned telephone service * * 
* may choose to seek certification from the Commission under [Sec.  
64.605],'' and that therefore, ``[a]s a general matter, potential IP 
CTS providers may become eligible for compensation from the Fund by 
being accepted into a certified state TRS program or subcontracting 
with an entity that is part of a certified state program, or by seeking 
Commission certification.'' IP CTS Declaratory Ruling, 22 FCC Rcd at 
391, paragraph 28. The Commission made clear that ``[p]resent 
eligibility to receive compensation from the Fund for the provision of 
other forms of TRS (including captioned telephone service) does not 
confer eligibility with regard to the provision of the IP CTS 
recognized in this Declaratory Ruling.''
    The Bureau therefore clarifies that, to establish eligibility for 
compensation from the Fund, IP CTS providers must either: (1) Seek 
certification from the Commission pursuant to 47 CFR 64.605; (2) become 
part of a certified state program; or (3) subcontract with an entity 
that is part of a certified state program. Only where an IP CTS 
provider is a common carrier offering telephone voice transmission 
services and obligated to provide IP CTS in a state that does not have 
a certified TRS program would it be able to establish eligibility for 
compensation from the Fund via section 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(F)(3) of the 
Commission's rules. Further, the fact that a provider is eligible to 
receive compensation from the Fund for the provision of other forms of 
TRS is not sufficient grounds, on its own, to establish a provider's 
eligibility to receive compensation from the Fund for the provision of 
IP CTS. The intent of the more specific eligibility rules for IP CTS 
providers set forth in the IP CTS Declaratory Ruling is to ensure that 
either the Commission or a state has oversight responsibility for each 
provider.
    The Bureau also clarifies that IP CTS providers seeking 
compensation from the Fund must notify the Fund administrator 
(currently, the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA)) 30 days 
prior to the date they submit minutes to the Fund administrator for 
payment. 47 CFR 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(G). This requirement applies even if 
the provider presently offers other forms of TRS and is compensated 
from the Fund. Because the 2007 IP CTS Declaratory Ruling specifically 
states that merely being a relay provider of another service is not 
enough to confer eligibility, it follows that for IP CTS providers to 
become eligible for compensation, they must both seek Commission or 
state certification (or be a subcontractor), and must notify NECA 30 
days prior to submitting minutes for payment.

Federal Communications Commission.
Nicole McGinnis,
Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E8-9522 Filed 4-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P