[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37624-37625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18008]



[[Page 37624]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC 
Docket No. 92-105; DA 09-1461]


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: Final rule; extension of waiver.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, extends the limited waiver granted in 
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, Order (2009 TRS 711 Waiver Order), of 
the requirement that traditional telecommunications relay service (TRS) 
providers (those providing relay service via the public switched 
telephone network and a text telephone (TTY)) must 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.

DATES: Effective June 26, 2009. Traditional TRS providers are granted a 
waiver until June 29, 2010.

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 synopsis of the Commission's 
document DA 09-1461, adopted and released on June 26, 2009. 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 duplicating contractor at their 
Web site: http://www.bcpiweb.com or call 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). This document can also be 
downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro.

Synopsis

    1. 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, 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.''
    2. 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.
    3. In the 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, via the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
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. Traditional TRS providers also were 
granted 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.
    4. In the 2009 TRS 711 Waiver Order, released on April 1, 2009, 
published at 74 FR 20892, May 6, 2009, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket 
No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105, DA 09-749, 
the Commission, via the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
extended for 90 days (until June 29, 2009) the limited waiver granted 
to traditional TRS providers in the 2008 TRS 711 Waiver Order. In 
taking this action, the Commission granted, to the extent provided 
therein, a petition for extension of waiver filed by AT&T and Sprint 
from the requirement of Sec.  64.604(a)(4) with respect to traditional 
TRS providers' duty to automatically and immediately route emergency 
711 calls that originate on the network of an interconnected VoIP 
provider. In view of the continued technical and operational challenges 
presented by this requirement, the Commission found good cause to grant 
traditional TRS providers an extension of the waiver of Sec.  
64.604(a)(4) until June 29, 2009. The Commission allowed the waiver 
relief previously granted to interconnected VoIP providers to expire, 
however, noting that progress had been made toward resolving technical 
difficulties previously associated with the routing of 711-dialed calls 
by interconnected VoIP providers.
    6. In the Notice accompanying the 2009 TRS 711 Waiver Order, 
published at 74 FR 21364, May 7, 2009, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket 
No. 03-123, WT

[[Page 37625]]

Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105, DA 09-749, the Commission, 
via the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, sought comment on any 
remaining compliance issues that currently prevent traditional TRS 
providers from reliably identifying the appropriate PSAP to call when 
receiving an emergency call via 711 and an interconnected VoIP service. 
In addition, the Commission sought comment on: (1) The total number of 
interconnected VoIP-originated 711 TRS calls that are processed 
annually by interconnected VoIP and traditional TRS providers, and the 
proportion of those calls that are of an emergency nature; (2) the 
continuing need, from the consumer's perspective, to be able to dial 
711 via TRS in an emergency, rather than dialing 911 directly; (3) any 
impediments consumers have encountered in attempting to dial 911 
directly; (4) the effectiveness of providers' outreach efforts in 
educating consumers about the importance of dialing 911 directly in an 
emergency when using a TTY and an interconnected VoIP service; and (5) 
the continuing use of TTYs by individuals with hearing or speech 
disabilities and, in particular, the use of TTYs with an interconnected 
VoIP service.
    7. On June 11, 2009, AT&T filed a petition seeking an indefinite 
extension of the waiver of Sec.  64.604(a)(4), asserting that 
traditional TRS providers ``still cannot determine the appropriate PSAP 
to route a VoIP-originated 711 emergency call due to the 
inaccessibility of registered location information.'' See 
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 Service for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, WC Docket No. 04-36, WT Docket No. 96-
198, CG Docket No. 03-123 & CC Docket No. 92-105, Petition for 
Extension of Wavier at 2 (filed June 11, 2009).
    8. In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, extends until June 29, 2010, the current 
limited waiver of Sec.  64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules, to the 
extent it applies to traditional TRS providers' obligation to 
automatically and immediately route the outbound leg of an 
interconnected VoIP-originated emergency 711 call to an appropriate 
PSAP. Notwithstanding this action, the Commission notes that if a 
caller using a TTY connected to an interconnected VoIP service calls a 
PSAP directly as a 911-dialed emergency call (as a text-to-text, or 
TTY-to-TTY call), the 911-dialed call will be routed automatically and 
immediately through the selective router over the wireline E911 network 
to the PSAP that serves the caller's Registered Location, just as it 
would be for a hearing caller via an interconnected VoIP service.
    9. The record reflects that the remaining technical and operational 
challenges of compliance with this requirement are formidable and that 
a comprehensive resolution of these issues will require significant, 
ongoing collaboration among a variety of industry stakeholders. At the 
same time, the comments suggest that the increasing popularity and 
availability of Internet-based forms of TRS have significantly reduced 
the number of consumers with broadband Internet access who communicate 
via a TTY and an interconnected VoIP service, rather than via an 
Internet-based form of TRS. Moreover, the introduction of more forward-
looking solutions, such as the ``real-time text'' solution described in 
the record, is likely to diminish further the incidence of TTY use with 
an interconnected VoIP service. Taken together, these findings lead to 
the conclusion that, while TTY use by interconnected VoIP consumers may 
be on the decline, there remain deaf and hard of hearing consumers who 
continue to rely on TTYs. Therefore, while the Commission finds good 
cause to extend for an additional year the limited waiver previously 
granted to traditional TRS providers, in light of the continuing 
technical and operational challenges described in the record, the 
Commission declines to extend the waiver indefinitely.
    10. Finally, the Commission concludes that, during the period of 
this waiver, any traditional TRS provider that cannot automatically and 
immediately route to an appropriate PSAP the outbound leg of an 
interconnected VoIP-originated emergency 711 call, as required by Sec.  
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules, must maintain a system for 
doing so, to the extent feasible, that accomplishes the proper routing 
of emergency 711 calls as quickly and efficiently as possible. This 
waiver is, therefore, conditioned on continued compliance with that 
requirement. Further, during this period, TRS providers and 
interconnected VoIP providers must continue to undertake consumer 
education and outreach designed to remind individuals with hearing or 
speech disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a text-to-text, TTY-to-TTY 
call) in an emergency. The Commission also expects TRS providers to 
continue their collaboration with interconnected VoIP providers and 
other industry stakeholders in order to resolve any remaining 
compliance issues associated with the processing and routing of 
interconnected VoIP-originated 711 emergency calls.

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 Sections 0.141, 
0.361, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.141, 0.316 and 1.3, 
document DA 09-1461 is adopted.
    Section 64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 
64.604(a)(4), to the extent that it requires traditional TRS providers 
to implement a system to automatically and immediately call an 
appropriate PSAP when receiving an emergency 711-dialed call via an 
interconnected VoIP service, is waived until June 29, 2010.

Federal Communications Commission.
Suzanne M. Tetreault,
Acting Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E9-18008 Filed 7-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P