[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21364-21366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10504]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC
Docket No. 92-105; DA 09-749]
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
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, seeks comment on the petition for
extension of waiver filed with the Commission by AT&T Inc. (AT&T) and
Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint) (Petition). The Petition requested a
one-year extension of the current waiver of the Commission's rules to
the extent that provision requires traditional telecommunications relay
service (TRS) providers (those providing relay service via the public
switched telephone network and a text telephone (TTY)) to automatically
and immediately call an appropriate Public Safety Answering Point
(PSAP) when receiving an emergency 711-dialed call placed by an
interconnected voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) user. The Commission
seeks comment on the remaining technical, operational, or other issues
that currently prevent traditional TRS providers from being able to
reliably identify the appropriate PSAP to call when receiving an
emergency call via 711 and an interconnected VoIP service. The
Commission also seeks comment regarding the usage of traditional TRS to
place calls through interconnected VoIP service, particularly the
incidence of such calls for purposes of obtaining emergency assistance.
DATES: Comments are due on or before May 28, 2009 and reply comments
are due on or before June 8, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments and reply comments
identified by [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No.
96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105], by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Parties who choose to file by paper should also submit
their comments on a compact disc. The compact discs should be
submitted, along with three paper copies, to: Dana Wilson, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, 445 12th Street,
SW., Room 3-C418, Washington, DC 20554. Such a submission should be on
a compact disc formatted in an IBM compatible format using Word 2003 or
compatible software. The compact disc should be accompanied by a cover
letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The compact disc
should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, the proceedings
(including the docket numbers) in this case, [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG
Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198, and CC Docket No. 92-105],
type of pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and
the name of the electronic file on the compact disc. The label should
also include the following phrase ``Disc Copy--Not an Original.'' Each
compact disc should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a
single electronic file. In addition, paper filers must send compact
disc copies to the Commission's copy contractor, Portals II, 445 12th
Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-7395 (voice), or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 1.415 and 1.419 of
the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.419, interested parties may
file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on
the first page of this document. Comments may be filed using: (1) The
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal
Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See
Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121,
May 1, 1998.
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/
or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers
should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting
comments.
For ECFS filers, if multiple docket or rulemaking numbers
appear in the caption of this proceeding, filers must transmit one
electronic copy of the comments for each docket or rulemaking number
referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, filers
should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address,
and the applicable docket or rulemaking number, which in this instance
[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198, and
CC Docket No. 92-105]. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by
Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions, filers should send an e-
mail to [email protected], and include the following words in the body of
the message, ``get form your e-mail address.'' A sample form and
directions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption in this proceeding,
filers must submit two additional copies of each additional docket or
rulemaking number.
Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial
overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service
mail (although the Commission continues to experience delays in
receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to
the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal
Communications Commission.
[[Page 21365]]
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
Commercial mail sent by overnight mail (other than U.S.
Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
This is a synopsis of the Commission's document DA 09-749, released
April 1, 2009. This document also contains a separate order granting in
part the petition for extension of waiver filed by AT&T and Sprint and
extending for 90 days (until June 29, 2009) the limited waiver granted
to traditional TRS providers in the 2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order. Pursuant
to Sec. 1.1206 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1206, this
proceeding will be conducted as a permit-but-disclose proceeding in
which ex parte communications are subject to disclosure.
On June 15, 2007, the Commission released the Report and Order
(VoIP TRS Order), published at 72 FR 43546, August 6, 2007, WC Docket
No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No.
92-105, FCC 07-110. In the VoIP TRS Order, effective October 5, 2007,
the Commission extended its pre-existing TRS rules to interconnected
VoIP providers, including the duty to offer 711 abbreviated dialing
access to TRS. The VoIP TRS Order required interconnected VoIP
providers to offer 711 abbreviated dialing ``to ensure that TRS calls
can be made from any telephone, anywhere in the United States, and that
such calls will be properly routed to the appropriate relay center.''
In the Order and Public Notice Seeking Comment (October 2007 Order and
Notice), released on October 9, 2007, published at 72 FR 61813,
November 1, 2007, and 72 FR 61882, November 1, 2007, WC Docket No. 04-
36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-
105, DA 07-4178, the Commission clarified the 711 abbreviated dialing
requirement adopted in the 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,'' as
defined by the Commission. The Commission also determined that the
geographic location identification challenges associated with
interconnected VoIP-originated 711 calls rendered traditional TRS
providers unable to consistently identify the ``appropriate'' PSAP to
which to route such calls. On this basis, the Commission found good
cause to grant traditional TRS providers a six-month waiver of the
obligation set forth in Sec. 64.604(a)(4) of its rules to
automatically and immediately route the outbound leg of an
interconnected VoIP-originated emergency 711 call to an ``appropriate''
PSAP.
In the Order (2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order), released on April 4,
2008, published at 73 FR 28057, May 15, 2008, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG
Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105, DA
07-4178, the Commission granted interconnected VoIP providers an
extension of time, until March 31, 2009, to route 711-dialed calls to
an appropriate relay center, 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. The
Commission also granted traditional TRS providers an extension of time,
until March 31, 2009, to fulfill 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.
On March 20, 2009, AT&T and Sprint filed a petition seeking a one-
year extension of the waiver of Sec. 64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's
rules to the extent that provision requires traditional TRS providers
to automatically and immediately route to an appropriate PSAP emergency
711-dialed calls placed by interconnected VoIP users.
The full text of this document 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. This document and copies of subsequently filed documents in this
matter may also 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 contractor
at their web site www.bcpiweb.com or by calling 1-800-378-3160. A copy
of the underlying petition for waiver may also be found by searching
ECFS at http://www.fcc.gov/cbg.ecfs. 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),
(202) 418-0432 (TTY). This document can also be downloaded in Word or
Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html#orders.
Synopsis
In this document, the Commission seeks comment on the remaining
technical, operational, or other issues that currently prevent
traditional TRS providers from being able to reliably identify the
appropriate PSAP to call when receiving an emergency call via 711 and
an interconnected VoIP service. In particular, comment is sought on the
specific steps that remain to be taken in order for traditional TRS
providers to be able to consistently route interconnected VoIP-
originated 711 emergency calls in the manner prescribed by Sec.
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules. The Commission also asks
providers for an estimate of the costs and the timeframe associated
with each of these steps. Further, the Commission seeks comment from
interconnected VoIP providers and TRS providers regarding the total
number of interconnected VoIP-originated 711 TRS calls that are
processed annually by each provider (estimates, if actual figures are
unavailable) and the proportion of those calls that are of an emergency
nature.
The Commission also seeks comment from interconnected VoIP
providers and TRS providers, as well as from consumers and disability
rights advocates, concerning the continuing use of TTYs by individuals
with hearing or speech disabilities and, in particular, the use of TTYs
with an interconnected VoIP service. The Commission seeks comment on
the overall effectiveness of providers' outreach efforts in educating
consumers about the importance of dialing 911 directly in an emergency,
rather than dialing 711 to place an emergency call via TRS.
Further, commenters are encouraged to comment on any impediments
consumers have encountered in attempting to dial 911 directly in an
emergency situation (when using a TTY and an interconnected VoIP
service). Finally, the Commission seeks comment on the continuing need,
from the consumer's perspective, of dialing 711 via TRS in an
emergency, rather than dialing 911 directly.
[[Page 21366]]
Federal Communications Commission.
Catherine Seidel,
Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E9-10504 Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P