[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 95 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28057-28059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10755]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 04-36; WT Docket No. 96-198; CG Docket No. 03-123 and CC 
Docket No. 92-105; DA 08-821]


IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) 
of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications 
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications 
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities; 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; the Use of N11 Codes 
and Other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; extension of waiver.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau 
(Bureau) grants interconnected voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 
providers an extension of time to route 711-dialed calls to an 
appropriate telecommunications relay service (TRS) center in the 
context of 711-dialed calls in which the calling party's telephone

[[Page 28058]]

number may not reflect his or her geographic location. The Bureau also 
grants traditional TRS providers (those providing relay service via the 
public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a text telephone (TTY)) an 
extension of time to fulfill their obligation to implement a system to 
automatically and immediately call an appropriate Public Safety 
Answering Point (PSAP) when receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via 
an interconnected VoIP service. The Bureau takes this action based on 
information in the record reflecting the significant technical 
challenges presented by this requirement and on the Bureau's finding 
that the delivery of the inbound leg of a 711-dialed call by an 
interconnected VoIP provider to the appropriate relay center is a 
predicate to the delivery by the relay center of the outbound leg of 
such a call to an appropriate PSAP.

DATES: Document DA 08-821 became effective on April 4, 2008. 
Interconnected VoIP providers are granted a waiver, until March 31, 
2009, of the requirement to route 711-dialed calls to an appropriate 
relay center, but only in the context of 711-dialed calls in which the 
calling party is using a non-geographically relevant telephone number 
or a nomadic interconnected VoIP service. Traditional TRS Providers are 
granted an extension of time, until March 31, 2009, to implement a 
system to automatically and immediately call an appropriate PSAP when 
receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via an interconnected VoIP 
service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-7395 (voice), or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Bureau's Order, DA 
08-821, adopted and released April 4, 2008. The full text of DA 08-821, 
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 08-821 and copies 
of any 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 08-821 also can be downloaded in 
Word and Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html#orders.

Synopsis

    On June 15, 2007, the Commission released IP-Enabled Services; 
Implementation of sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of The Communications Act 
of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications Act of 1996: Access to 
Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications Equipment and Customer 
Premises Equipment by Persons with Disabilities; Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities; the Use of N11 Codes and Other 
Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements, WC Docket No. 04-36, WT Docket No. 
96-198, CG Docket No. 03-123 and CC Docket No. 92-105, Report and 
Order, 22 FCC Rcd 11275 (2007) (2007 VoIP TRS Order), published at 72 
FR 43546, August 6, 2007. In the 2007 VoIP TRS Order, which became 
effective October 5, 2007, the Commission extended the TRS requirements 
contained in part 64 of the Commission's rules to providers of 
interconnected VoIP services. Among the requirements extended to 
interconnected VoIP providers was the obligation to offer 711 
abbreviated dialing access to traditional TRS via a voice telephone or 
a text telephone (TTY). Following release of the 2007 VoIP TRS Order, 
several parties filed petitions for waiver raising issues concerning 
(1) the ability of interconnected VoIP providers to route the inbound 
leg of a 711-dialed call to an appropriate TRS provider, particularly 
when the caller's telephone number does not correspond to the caller's 
geographic location, and (2) the ability of TRS providers that receive, 
via an interconnected VoIP service, a 711-dialed call concerning an 
emergency to determine an appropriate PSAP to call.
    In IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of sections 255 and 
251(a)(2) of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The 
Telecommunications Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, 
Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons 
with Disabilities; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-
Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; 
the Use of N11 Codes and Other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements, WC 
Docket No. 04-36, WT Docket No. 96-198, CG Docket No. 03-123 and CC 
Docket No. 92-105, Order and Public Notice Seeking Comment, 22 FCC Rcd 
18319 (Cons. Govt. Aff. Bur. 2007) (October 2007 Order and Notice), 
published at 72 FR 61813 and 73 FR 61882, November 1, 2007, the Bureau 
clarified the 711-dialing requirement adopted in the 2007 VoIP TRS 
Order and granted interconnected VoIP providers a six-month waiver of 
the requirement to route the inbound leg of a 711-dialed call to an 
``appropriate TRS provider.'' The Bureau also granted traditional TRS 
providers a six-month waiver of their obligation to implement a system 
to automatically and immediately call an appropriate PSAP when 
receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via an interconnected VoIP 
service.
    In the October 2007 Order and Notice, the Bureau sought comment on 
``technical solutions'' that would enable interconnected VoIP providers 
to route 711 calls to ``an appropriate relay center,'' as clarified in 
the October 2007 Order and Notice, and that would enable relay centers 
``to identify the appropriate PSAP to call'' when receiving an 
emergency call via 711 and an interconnected VoIP service.
    In DA 08-821, the Bureau extends and modifies the current waivers, 
as they apply to interconnected VoIP providers and traditional TRS 
providers. First, the Bureau finds good cause to grant interconnected 
VoIP providers an extension of time, until March 31, 2009, to route 
711-dialed calls to an appropriate relay center, but only in the 
context of 711-dialed calls in which the calling party's telephone 
number may not reflect his or her geographic location (because the 
caller is using a ``non-geographically relevant'' telephone number or a 
``nomadic'' interconnected VoIP service). The record demonstrates that 
the technical difficulties associated with identifying the geographic 
location of a caller using a nomadic interconnected VoIP service or a 
non-geographically relevant telephone number when dialing a 711 call 
will not be resolved by the time the current waiver expires after April 
5, 2008. Taking into account the progress providers have made to date, 
and in view of the extension petitions filed by Qwest Communications 
Corporation and Verizon, which detail the timetable for completion of 
developmental work that is, according to these providers, currently 
underway, the Bureau finds that providing interconnected VoIP providers 
this additional time to bring

[[Page 28059]]

themselves into compliance is warranted.
    The Bureau also, however, does not think additional time beyond 
March 31, 2009 is necessary, and therefore denies the request of 
Verizon to the extent it seeks to extend the current waiver for two 
years. In declining to grant a longer extension, the Bureau also agrees 
with the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology that, in 
assessing the necessity of a waiver in this context, the Commission 
should proceed cautiously, insofar as granting an extension may 
postpone the ability of persons with speech and hearing disabilities to 
access emergency services via TRS. For this reason, the Bureau limits 
the duration of the waiver and, as discussed above, limits the scope of 
the waiver to the routing of 711-dialed calls to an appropriate relay 
center where the calling party's telephone number may not reflect his 
or her geographic location.
    The Bureau emphasizes the limited scope of this waiver and notes 
that, upon expiration of the prior waiver (after April 5, 2008), 
interconnected VoIP providers are required to route to the appropriate 
relay center (as defined in the October 2007 Order and Notice) those 
711-dialed calls using a service in which the calling party's telephone 
number does reflect his or her geographic location. Further, 
notwithstanding the limited relief provided in DA 08-821, 
interconnected VoIP providers are nevertheless required to continue to 
accept nomadic and non-geographically relevant 711-dialed calls and 
route them to a relay center, even if it is not necessarily to the 
``appropriate relay center.'' In addition, during the pendency of this 
waiver period, interconnected VoIP providers must continue to take 
steps to remind persons with speech or hearing disabilities to call 911 
directly in the case of an emergency rather than making a 711-dialed 
TRS call.
    Regarding the obligation of traditional TRS providers to handle 
emergency calls in accordance with the Commission's rules, the Bureau 
also finds good cause to extend, until March 31, 2009, the current 
waiver of 47 CFR 64.604(a)(4), as applied to TRS providers' handling 
and routing of emergency 711-dialed calls placed via TTY by 
interconnected VoIP customers. Section 64.604(a)(4) requires TRS 
providers to use a system for incoming emergency calls that 
``automatically and immediately'' routes the outbound leg of a TRS call 
to an appropriate PSAP. The Bureau's reasons for extending the waiver 
for TRS providers are three-fold. First, the record reflects that the 
routing of the outbound leg of a VoIP-originated, 711-dialed call to an 
appropriate PSAP by a TRS provider continues to present significant 
technical and operational challenges. Second, to the extent that 
interconnected VoIP providers are unable to consistently deliver the 
inbound leg of a 711-dialed call to the appropriate relay center, 
particularly when the caller's phone number does not reflect the 
caller's geographic location, the Bureau agrees with commenters that 
the successful accomplishment of this task is a predicate to the 
delivery by the relay provider of the outbound leg of such a call to an 
appropriate PSAP. In particular, until interconnected VoIP providers 
are technically able to route a ``nomadic'' 711-dialed call to the 
``appropriate'' TRS provider (i.e., the TRS provider serving the state 
where the calling party is located or corresponding to the caller's 
last registered address), the TRS provider that receives such a call in 
error may contact a PSAP that corresponds to the caller's telephone 
number, but not the caller's actual location. Third, as noted by 
commenters, addressing these challenges will require a joint effort and 
the collaboration of TRS providers, interconnected VoIP providers and 
their vendors, PSAPs, the emergency services community, and the 
disability community. Although the Bureau applauds the steps undertaken 
thus far by various stakeholders, the record reflects that further 
collaboration is needed. For these reasons, the Bureau grants TRS 
providers an extension of the current waiver of the emergency call 
handling requirement until March 31, 2009.
    During the period of this waiver, pursuant to Sec.  64.604(a)(4), 
the Bureau continues to require a TRS provider that cannot 
automatically and immediately route to an appropriate PSAP the outbound 
leg of an emergency 711 call placed via TTY by an interconnected VoIP 
user to implement a manual system for doing so, to the extent feasible, 
that accomplishes the proper routing of emergency 711 calls as 
efficiently as possible. Further, during this period, TRS providers are 
instructed to continue to take steps to remind individuals with hearing 
or speech disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a text-to-text, TTY-to-
TTY call) in an emergency, whether using a PSTN-based service or 
interconnected VoIP service, rather than making a TRS call via 711 in 
an emergency. The Bureau also expects TRS providers will continue to 
collaborate with industry stakeholders in order to address any 
remaining issues, such that a further extension of this waiver will be 
unnecessary.

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, and Sec.  Sec.  0.141, 
0.361, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.141, 0.316 and 1.3, 
DA 08-821 is adopted.
    Interconnected VoIP providers are granted a waiver, until March 31, 
2009, of the requirement to route 711-dialed calls to an appropriate 
relay center, but only in the context of 711-dialed calls in which the 
calling party is using a non-geographically relevant telephone number 
or a nomadic interconnected VoIP service.
    State TRS Providers are granted an extension of time, until March 
31, 2009, to implement a system, as set forth in 47 CFR 64.604(a)(4), 
to automatically and immediately call an appropriate PSAP when 
receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via an interconnected VoIP 
service.
    The petitions filed by Qwest Communications Corporation and Verizon 
are granted to the extent described in DA 08-821.

Federal Communications Commission.
Pam Slipakoff,
Chief of Staff, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E8-10755 Filed 5-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P