[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 112 (Friday, June 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28046-28047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13718]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CG Docket No. 03-123; DA 09-211]


Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Providers Requesting 
Compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund Must Comply with Standard 
Rounding Principles in Measuring the Conversation Time of TRS Calls

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission states that current rules

[[Page 28047]]

require that telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers 
submitting minutes for payment from the Interstate TRS Fund must 
measure the conversation time of each call to the nearest second, and 
when the time for such calls is expressed in decimal form, the TRS 
provider must round the time to the nearest tenth of a minute.

DATES: Effective June 12, 2009.

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 Commission's 
document DA 09-211, released February 10, 2009, addressing the proper 
accounting practice to be followed in rounding conversation minutes 
when seeking compensation for TRS service. Specifically, the Notice 
states that TRS providers must comply with standard rounding principles 
in measuring the conversation time of TRS calls. The full text of 
document DA 09-211 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. Document 
DA 09-211 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 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), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Document DA 09-211 can 
also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro.

Synopsis

    It has come to the Commission's attention that certain 
telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers may be improperly 
``rounding'' up conversation minutes that are submitted to the 
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) each month for payment. Providers submitting 
minutes for payment from the Fund must measure the conversation time of 
each call to the nearest second, and when the time for such calls is 
expressed in decimal form, the relay provider must round the time to 
the nearest tenth of a minute, as set forth below.
    Specifically, when recording the actual conversation time of each 
completed call, the decimal representation of the seconds should extend 
to the tenth of a minute; providers may round up only in those 
circumstances where the number in the hundredth place is 5 or greater. 
If the number in the hundredth place is not 5 or greater, then the 
number in the tenth place remains the same.
    For example, if the actual conversation time is 34 minutes and 46 
seconds, the decimal expression to the hundredth place is 34.76. 
Because the number in the hundredth place (6) is 5 or greater, the 
number in the tenth place (7) may be rounded up to 8. Therefore, the 
actual conversation time, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a minute 
and used to calculate total monthly conversation minutes, is 34.8 
minutes. A contrasting example, where rounding up is not appropriate, 
is a situation where the actual conversation time is 34 minutes and 32 
seconds. For such a call, the decimal expression to the hundredth place 
is 34.53. Because the number in the hundredth place (3) is less than 5, 
the number in the tenth place (5) remains the same and the actual 
conversation time used to calculate total monthly conversation minutes 
is 34.5 minutes.
    In determining total monthly conversation minutes reported to NECA, 
the total conversation minutes of all eligible calls (each measured to 
the tenth of a minute, as described above) are added together. That 
total is then rounded to the nearest whole number (full minute) under 
the same principle set forth above. For instance, if the total number 
of conversation minutes for all calls in a particular month is 
123,456.8, that figure would be rounded up to 123,457. Similarly, if 
the figure was 123,456.4, the figure would be rounded down to 123,456.
    For the past several years, NECA has provided TRS providers with 
instructions for reporting minutes. Interstate Telecommunications Relay 
Service (TRS) Fund Instructions for Reporting Minutes Monthly (August 
2004) (Reporting Instructions). In the instructions, National Exchange 
Carrier Association (NECA), the Fund Administrator, advises that the 
actual conversation time of each completed call, in minutes/seconds or 
minutes/tenths, should be recorded during the month, and at the end of 
the month, the provider should total the minutes/seconds or minutes/
tenths for each type of call by center and round to the nearest whole 
number. The Reporting Instructions provide examples of how these 
rounding principles apply in determining total monthly minutes, stating 
that: (1) A monthly total of 180,095 minutes and 41 seconds, or 
180,095.68 minutes, would be rounded up to 180,096; and (2) a monthly 
total of 2,437 minutes and 15 seconds, or 2,437.25 minutes, would be 
rounded down to 2,437.
    The examples set forth herein are consistent with these 
instructions and standard rounding principles.
    Therefore, unless and until directed otherwise, TRS providers 
should follow the guidelines provided in NECA's Reporting Instructions 
and in this document.

Federal Communications Commission.
Suzanne M. Tetreault,
Acting Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E9-13718 Filed 6-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P