[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23715-23716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11738]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[CG Docket No. 03-123 and WC Docket No. 05-196; DA 09-870]
Pleading Cycle Established for Filing of Oppositions To Petition
for Partial Reconsideration and Limited Waiver, and Petition for
Partial Reconsideration, Concerning the Assignment of Ten-Digit
Telephone Numbers and E911 Requirements for Internet-Based
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, announces the filing of petitions for
partial reconsideration by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing, Inc. and five consumer organizations (TDI Coalition), and
GoAmerica, Inc. (GoAmerica). Petitioners seek reconsideration of the
eligibility requirement that limits the assignment of ten-digit
telephone numbers to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or who
have a speech disability. Additionally, GoAmerica seeks
reconsideration, or a limited waiver for six months, of the requirement
that Internet-based TRS providers must answer a call back from the
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with priority (i.e., move the call
to the top of the queue).
DATES: Oppositions are due on or before June 4, 2009 and replies to
oppositions are due on or before June 15, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Pursuant to 47 CFR 1.429(f) and (g), interested parties may
submit oppositions or replies to oppositions identified by [CG Docket
No. 03-123 and WC Docket No. 05-196], by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting electronic filings.
Federal Communications Commission's Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS): Follow the instructions for submitting electronic
filings.
By filing paper copies.
For electronic filers through ECFS or the Federal eRulemaking
Portal, because multiple docket numbers appear in the caption of this
proceeding, filers must transmit one electronic copy of the opposition
or reply to opposition to each docket 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
number. 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.'' 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. Because more than one docket
number appears in the caption in this proceeding, filers must submit
two additional copies for each additional docket number. Filings can be
sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or
by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal
[[Page 23716]]
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. Parties who choose to file by paper should
also submit their documents on a compact disc. The compact disc 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. It should also be clearly labeled with the party's name, the
proceedings (including the docket numbers) which in this case are [CG
Docket No. 03-123 and WC 05-196], type of pleading (opposition or reply
to opposition), 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.
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings and electronic media 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 and electronic media 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Hlibok, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (866) 954-4053 (voice and videophone),
(202) 418-0431 (TTY), or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's
document DA 09-870, released April 20, 2009, which announces the
January 29, 2009 filing by TDI Coalition of a Petition for Partial
Reconsideration, and by GoAmerica of a Petition for Partial
Reconsideration and Limited Waiver, of Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service
Providers, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Second Report
and Order and Order on Reconsideration, document FCC 08-275; published
at 73 FR 79683, December 30, 2008 (Second Internet-Based TRS Order).
Pursuant to 47 CFR 1.1206, this proceeding will be conducted as a
permit-but-disclose proceeding in which ex parte communications are
subject to disclosure. 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 its Web site http://www.bcpiweb.com, by e-
mail at [email protected], or by calling 1-800-378-3160. A copy of the
underlying petitions may also be found by searching ECFS at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/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.
Synopsis
In the Second Internet-Based TRS Order, the Commission concluded,
in part, that only individuals with a hearing or speech disability will
be eligible to obtain ten-digit telephone numbers under the numbering
system adopted in the Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-
Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities;
E911 Requirement for IP-Enabled Service Providers, CG Docket No. 03-
123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Report and Order and Further Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, document FCC 08-151 (Internet-Based TRS Order);
published at 73 FR 41286, July 18, 2008 and 73 FR 41307, July 18, 2008.
To this end, the Commission also required providers to verify that
persons receiving ten-digit numbers ``have a medically recognized
hearing or speech disability necessitating their use of TRS'' through a
self-certification process. TDI Coalition and GoAmerica seek
reconsideration of this eligibility requirement that limits the
assignment of ten-digit telephone numbers to individuals who are deaf
or hard of hearing or who have a speech disability. TDI Coalition and
GoAmerica contend, in part, that allowing assignment of ten-digit
numbers to hearing persons would facilitate point-to-point (i.e., non-
relay) calls between a voice telephone user and an individual with a
hearing or speech disability, and therefore reduce the number of VRS
calls that are compensated from the Interstate TRS Fund.
In addition, GoAmerica requests that the Commission grant
reconsideration or a limited waiver for six months of the requirement
that Internet-based TRS providers answer a call back from the PSAP with
priority. GoAmerica asserts that providers are not capable of meeting
this requirement at the present time and are working collaboratively on
a technical solution.
Federal Communications Commission.
Suzanne Tetreault,
Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E9-11738 Filed 5-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P