[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49693-49697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19786]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket Nos. 08-15 and 03-123; FCC 13-101]


Speech-to-Speech and Internet Protocol (IP) Speech-to-Speech 
Telecommunications Relay Services; Telecommunications Relay Services 
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission amends telecommunications 
relay services (TRS) mandatory minimum standards applicable to Speech-
to-Speech (STS) relay service. This action is necessary to ensure that 
persons with speech disabilities have access to relay services that 
address their unique needs, in furtherance of the objectives of section 
225 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), to provide 
relay services in a manner that is functionally equivalent to 
conventional telephone voice services.

DATES: Effective October 15, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Hlibok, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, at (202) 559-
5158 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's 
Speech-to-Speech and Internet Protocol (IP) Speech-to-Speech 
Telecommunications Relay Services; Telecommunications Relay Services 
and Speech-to-Speech Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, Report and Order 
(Order), document FCC 13-101, adopted on July 19, 2013, and released on 
July 19, 2013, in CG Docket Nos. 08-15 and 03-123. In document FCC 13-
101, the Commission also seeks comment in an accompanying

[[Page 49694]]

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice), which is summarized in 
a separate Federal Register Publication. The full text of document FCC 
13-101 will be available for public inspection and copying via the 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), and during 
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals 
II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. It also 
may be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best 
Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554, telephone: (800) 378-3160, fax: (202) 488-5563, 
Internet: www.bcpiweb.com. Document FCC 13-101 can also be downloaded 
in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/telecommunications-relay-services-trs. To request 
materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, 
large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to 
[email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    1. Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires 
the Commission to ensure that TRS is available to all individuals with 
hearing and speech disabilities in the United States and to increase 
the utility of the telephone system by enabling these persons to access 
the telephone system to make calls to, and receive calls from, other 
individuals. Under Title IV, the Commission must ensure that, ``to the 
extent possible and in the most efficient manner,'' relay services are 
made available that provide access to the telephone system that is 
``functionally equivalent'' to voice telephone services.
    2. When Congress first enacted section 225 of the Act, relay calls 
were placed using a text telephone device (TTY) connected to the public 
switched telephone network (PSTN). Since then, the Commission has 
determined that several new forms of relay fall within the definition 
of TRS and decided to include PSTN-based STS, captioned telephone 
service (CTS), video relay service (VRS), Internet Protocol Relay (IP 
Relay), and IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS) as compensable 
forms of TRS.
    3. In March 2000, the Commission mandated that carriers obligated 
to provide TRS also provide STS so that persons with speech 
disabilities can access the telephone system. STS utilizes specially 
trained communications assistants (CAs) who understand the speech 
patterns of persons with speech disabilities and can repeat the words 
spoken by such individuals to the other parties to a relayed call. A 
person with a speech disability can initiate an STS call by dialing 711 
(the nationwide access code for state relay providers) and giving the 
CA the number of the person he or she wishes to call. The CA then makes 
the outbound call, and re-voices what the STS user says to the called 
party. Persons desiring to call a person with a speech disability via 
STS can also dial 711 to reach a CA who can handle the call. At 
present, states are responsible for compensating providers for the 
costs of providing intrastate STS, while the Interstate 
Telecommunications Relay Services Fund (Fund) compensates providers for 
the costs of providing interstate STS.
    4. On June 26, 2006, Bob Segalman and Rebecca Ladew filed a 
petition requesting that the Commission amend its rules to require an 
STS CA to stay with the call for a minimum of 20 minutes, rather than 
15 minutes because ``STS calls often last much longer than text-to-
voice calls[,] changing CAs on these calls prior to 20 minutes can 
seriously disrupt their flow and impair functionally equivalent 
telephone service.'' Bob Segalman and Rebecca Ladew, Petition for 
Amendment to TRS Rule on Speech-to-Speech Relay Service, CG Docket No. 
03-123 (2006 STS Petition).
    5. On December 21, 2007, Hawk Relay filed a Request for 
Clarification that IP STS is a form of TRS eligible for compensation 
from the Fund. Hawk Relay, Request for Expedited Clarification for the 
Provision and Cost Recovery of Internet Protocol Speech-to-Speech Relay 
Service, CG Docket No. 08-15 (IP STS Request). The IP STS Request 
describes IP STS as a type of STS that uses the Internet to connect the 
consumer to the relay provider. According to the IP STS Request, an IP 
STS call is initiated by the relay user clicking an icon on his or her 
computer or device. The user is connected to a CA over the Internet and 
tells the CA the number to be dialed; the CA then connects the IP STS 
user with the called party and relays the call between the two parties.
    6. On June 24, 2008, the Commission released the 2008 STS NPRM in 
response to the 2006 STS Petition and the IP STS Request. 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Speech-to-Speech and 
Internet Protocol (IP) Speech-to-Speech Telecommunications Relay 
Service, CG Docket Nos. 03-123 and 08-15, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, published at 73 FR 47120, August 13, 2008 (2008 STS NPRM). 
The Commission sought comment on whether to amend the TRS rules to 
require STS CAs to stay with a call for a minimum of 20 minutes (rather 
than 15 minutes), and whether the Commission should more specifically 
define the point at which the minimum period of time begins to run. The 
Commission also sought comment on whether to amend the TRS rules to 
require that STS providers offer the STS user the option of having his 
or her voice muted so that the other party to the call will hear only 
the STS CA re-voicing the call, and not the voice of the STS user, as 
well as on whether there are ways to ensure that STS users calling 711, 
the nationwide dialing access code for TRS, will promptly reach an STS 
CA to handle their calls. With respect to IP STS, the 2008 STS NPRM 
sought comment on its tentative conclusions that IP STS is a form of 
TRS compensable from the Fund, that it should be compensated at the 
same rate as STS, and that an entity desiring to offer IP STS could 
become eligible to do so by being accepted into a certified state TRS 
program, subcontracting with an entity that is part of a certified 
state program, or by seeking Commission certification.
    7. On October 20, 2011, Speech Communications Assistance by 
Telephone, together with eight other national disability organizations, 
filed a petition requesting the Commission to open a proceeding on 
modernizing STS to allow people with speech disabilities to benefit 
from modern IP technologies through the use of video-assisted STS, or 
VA-STS. Speech Communications Assistance by Telephone (SCT), Petition 
for Rulemaking for Video Assisted STS (VID-STS) to Facilitate Phone 
Communication for People with Severe Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 
03-123 (2011 VA-STS Petition). VA-STS connects the caller and the CA 
via a broadband video link, which allows the CA to see STS users as 
they are speaking. Petitioners claim that giving the CA the ability to 
see the STS caller's mouth movements, facial expressions, and gestures, 
and possibly even cue cards, can enable the CA to better understand and 
re-voice for the caller. In this manner, Petitioners assert, VA-STS 
provides functional equivalence to many individuals with speech 
disabilities who are not able to utilize traditional STS successfully.
    8. As the Commission has recognized in the past, given the nature 
of the interaction between an STS user and an STS CA, requiring a 
longer minimum

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period of time that an STS CA must stay with a call than is required 
for other forms of TRS furthers section 225 of the Act's functional 
equivalency objective. Based upon the record concerning past experience 
with the preexisting 15 minute period of time that an STS CA must stay 
with a call, the Commission now concludes that an incremental increase 
to 20 minutes would better ensure functional equivalency, and the 
Commission amends its rule accordingly. The record confirms that 
transferring an ongoing call to a new CA is often disruptive because 
the new STS CA must adjust to the speech patterns of the STS user. 
Further, persons with speech disabilities often require a greater 
amount of time and concentration to perform the tasks of listening to 
the other party, thinking, forming a response, and then speaking.
    9. The Commission concludes that the 20 minute time period should 
begin when the CA reaches the called party, and amends its rules 
accordingly. The Commission emphasizes that, for calls initiated by 
persons with speech disabilities, the CA should initiate an outbound 
call to the voice telephone user only when he or she is effectively 
communicating with the STS user. Moreover, especially for STS calls 
initiated by persons without a speech disability, the Commission 
concludes that if, once the called party has been reached, the STS user 
and the CA are at any point unable to communicate effectively, the STS 
provider may switch the call to a different CA before the 20 minute 
period has expired without violating the 20 minute in-call replacement 
rule.
    10. The Commission concludes that STS providers must offer STS 
users the option to have their voices muted so that the other party to 
the call will hear only the CA, not the user's voice, and it amends its 
rules accordingly. This option will likely give more persons with 
speech disabilities the confidence to use STS because many such 
individuals are hesitant to allow the called party to hear their 
speech.
    11. In 2000, the Commission adopted nationwide 711 dialing access 
to allow both persons with disabilities and voice telephone users to 
initiate a TRS call from any telephone, anywhere in the United States, 
and be connected to the TRS facility serving that calling area. In 
2008, the Commission sought comment on a number of 711 issues specific 
to STS users and noted that the Commission was in receipt of complaints 
from STS users who reported being disconnected upon dialing 711 during 
the transfer to an STS CA, indicating perhaps a lack of proper training 
on the part of some CAs, or the lack of proper equipment to receive and 
transfer STS calls to an STS CA. The Commission asked whether there are 
means by which it could ensure that STS users can reach an STS CA 
promptly and without disconnection after dialing 711, for example 
through the use of a prompt or menu.
    12. Rather than mandating any particular technical solution, the 
Commission concludes that STS providers must, at a minimum, employ the 
same means of enabling their STS users to connect to a CA when dialing 
711 that they use for all other forms of TRS. For example, where a 
provider requires its CAs to directly answer incoming 711 calls (i.e., 
they do not use an interactive voice response (IVR) menu system for 
incoming TRS calls), it must ensure that its CAs are trained to discern 
the specific needs of STS users and promptly transfer these incoming 
calls to STS CAs, so that these callers have the same timely access to 
communications that other TRS callers have. Additionally, the provider 
may not require that the caller hang up and dial a different number 
(e.g., a toll free number) to reach an STS CA because this, too, would 
defeat the purpose of requiring easy dialing access as established in 
the 711 TRS Dialing Order, and impose a particular hardship on STS 
users, many of whom have limitations in their motor dexterity due to 
stroke, cerebral palsy or other muscular limitations that have caused 
their speech disabilities. Use of N11 Codes and Other Abbreviated 
Dialing Arrangements, CC Docket No. 92-105, Report and Order, published 
at 65 FR 54799, September 11, 2000 (711 TRS Dialing Order).
    13. To the extent that a provider uses an IVR menu system that 
allows a direct connection to a CA for TTY-based and other forms of TRS 
on the first level of menu prompts, it must allow STS users to connect 
directly to an STS CA from that first level of prompts. Ensuring that 
STS users are not required to navigate through extra dialing menus will 
enable such users to communicate by telephone in a manner that is 
functionally equivalent to the ability of an individual who does not 
have a speech disability. The Commission notes, however, that the 
mandate for 711 dialing does not preclude STS providers from offering a 
single nationwide toll free number as a supplement to 711 dialing 
access. However, a dedicated toll-free number for STS calls cannot take 
the place of 711 STS dialing access, as this would be inconsistent with 
the intent of the 711 TRS Dialing Order, which was to ensure that easy 
dialing access be available to all persons with hearing and speech 
disabilities seeking to use TRS across the country, as well as to voice 
telephone users seeking to call such persons.
    14. In the 2008 STS NPRM, the Commission tentatively concluded that 
IP STS meets the definition of TRS under section 225(a)(3) of the Act, 
and thus may be eligible for compensation from the Fund. The Commission 
now concludes, however, that it needs additional information in order 
to determine whether an additional form of STS that utilizes Internet-
based transmissions is necessary to achieve functional equivalence for 
Americans with speech disabilities, and, if so, to establish the 
parameters for such form of STS. It appears that STS users already can 
obtain the claimed advantages of IP STS, such as the ability to make 
calls on a mobile or Internet-enabled device, by simply using an 
interconnected VoIP service to access a state STS relay center. 
Additionally, the Commission received the 2011 VA-STS Petition, 
requesting the Commission to open a proceeding on VA-STS, which employs 
IP video technologies to enhance relayed communication by people with 
speech disabilities. Petitioners in the 2011 VA-STS Petition claim that 
allowing the CA the ability to see and get cues from ``the user's face 
and any available seen body parts or indicators,'' such as facial 
expressions and the orientation and movement of the body, enables the 
CA to more effectively re-voice what a person with a speech disability 
says during a call. In the coming months, the Commission will open a 
proceeding to seek comment on whether an additional form of STS that 
utilizes Internet-based transmissions is necessary to achieve 
functional equivalence for Americans with speech disabilities, and, if 
so, how such service should be structured and provided under the 
Commission's TRS program.
    15. Consumer groups propose other initiatives to further enhance 
the use and quality of STS. A consumer group asserts that STS providers 
should be required to inform STS users of the TRS confidentiality rules 
so that prospective STS users would be reassured that their privacy is 
being preserved. The Commission declines to adopt this proposal because 
it is concerned that adding this requirement to the start of every STS 
call may be unduly burdensome for both the CA and other users, many of 
whom may already be familiar with this mandatory minimum standard. 
Instead, the Commission believes that informing potential users of 
their right to TRS confidentiality is

[[Page 49696]]

best incorporated into any outreach efforts that are required by its 
current or future rules. A second recommendation is to require STS 
users' profiles to be immediately available to the STS CA each time an 
STS user places an STS call so that providers can provide a better and 
more ``consistent STS relay experience'' for users. The Commission 
believes that this proposal deserves consideration, but defers its 
resolution until after the Commission seeks and obtains further input 
on the proposal's merits in response to the Notice.

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    Document FCC 13-101 does not contain any new or revised information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new 
or revised information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).

Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    1. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), 
requires that a regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for 
rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.'' The RFA generally defines ``small entity'' as having 
the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small 
organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, 
the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term ``small 
business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A small business 
concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated; (2) is 
not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any 
additional criteria established by the Small Business Administration 
(SBA).
    2. STS relay service is a form of TRS that utilizes specially 
trained CAs who understand the speech patterns of persons with speech 
disabilities and can repeat the words spoken by such individuals to the 
other parties to a relayed call. In the Order, the Commission concludes 
that requiring an STS CA to stay with the call for a minimum of 20 
minutes is best served to ensure the effective and efficient relaying 
of STS calls. The Commission also finds that requiring that STS 
providers offer the STS user the option of having her or his voice 
muted so that the other party to the call would hear only the STS CA 
re-voicing the call, and not the voice of the STS user as well, will 
give potential STS users the confidence necessary to use STS. In 
document FCC 13-101, the Commission further requires that STS providers 
must, at a minimum, employ the same means of enabling their STS users 
to connect to a CA when dialing 711 that they use for all other forms 
of TRS. For example, when a CA directly answers an incoming 711 call, 
the CA must transfer the STS user to an STS CA without requiring the 
STS user to take any additional steps. When an interactive voice 
response (IVR) system answers an incoming 711 call, the IVR system must 
allow for an STS user to connect directly to an STS CA using the same 
level of prompts as the IVR system uses for all other forms of PSTN-
based TRS.
    3. The Commission concludes that these new requirements are 
necessary to improve the effectiveness and quality of STS so that 
individuals with speech disabilities may receive functionally 
equivalent telephone service, as mandated by Title IV of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act. The Commission believes that none of these 
requirements would impose a significant burden on providers, including 
small businesses. Specifically, each of the three new requirements 
entail only minor operational changes that can be accomplished at 
minimal cost to each provider of STS, including small businesses.
    4. In analyzing whether a substantial number of small entities will 
be affected by the requirements adopted in document FCC 13-101, the 
Commission notes that the SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for Wired Telecommunications Carriers, which consists of all 
such firms having 1,500 or fewer employees. Five providers currently 
receive compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund for providing STS: 
AT&T Corporation; Hamilton Relay, Inc.; Kansas Relay Service, Inc.; 
Purple Communications, Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corporation. The 
Commission notes that only one of these five providers is a small 
entity under the SBA's small business size standard. Because each of 
the three new requirements adopted in the Order entail only minor 
operational changes that can be accomplished at minimal cost to each 
provider of STS, the Commission concludes that the number of small 
entities affected by its requirements in document FCC 13-101 is not 
substantial.
    5. Therefore, for all of the reasons stated above, the Commission 
certifies that the requirements of document FCC 13-101 will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Congressional Review Act

    1. The Commission will send a copy of document FCC 13-101 in a 
report to be sent to Congress and the Governmental Accountability 
Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to sections 1, 4(i), (j), and (o), 225, and 403 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), (j), and 
(o), 225, and 403, document FCC 13-101 is adopted.
    The 2006 STS Petition is granted to the extent indicated herein.
    The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of document FCC 13-101, 
including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64

    Individuals with disabilities, Telecommunications.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 part 64 as follows:

PART 64--MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 64 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 254(k); 403 (b)(2)(B), (c), Pub. L. 
104-104, 110 Stat. 56. Interpret or apply 47 U.S.C. 201, 218, 222, 
225, 226, 227, 228, 254(k), 616, 620, and the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96, unless 
otherwise noted.


0
2. Amend Sec.  64.604 by revising paragraph (a)(1)(v) and by adding 
paragraphs (a)(1)(viii) and (b)(7) to read as follows:


Sec.  64.604  Mandatory minimum standards.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (v) CAs answering and placing a TTY-based TRS or VRS call shall 
stay with the call for a minimum of ten minutes. CAs answering and 
placing an STS call shall stay with the call for a minimum of twenty 
minutes. The minimum time period shall begin to run when the CA reaches 
the called party. The obligation of the CA to stay with the call shall 
terminate upon the earlier of:
    (A) The termination of the call by one of the parties to the call; 
or

[[Page 49697]]

    (B) The completion of the minimum time period.
* * * * *
    (viii) STS providers shall offer STS users the option to have their 
voices muted so that the other party to the call will hear only the CA 
and will not hear the STS user's voice.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (7) STS 711 Calls. An STS provider shall, at a minimum, employ the 
same means of enabling an STS user to connect to a CA when dialing 711 
that the provider uses for all other forms of TRS. When a CA directly 
answers an incoming 711 call, the CA shall transfer the STS user to an 
STS CA without requiring the STS user to take any additional steps. 
When an interactive voice response (IVR) system answers an incoming 711 
call, the IVR system shall allow for an STS user to connect directly to 
an STS CA using the same level of prompts as the IVR system uses for 
all other forms of TRS.
* * * * *

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-19786 Filed 8-14-13; 8:45 am]
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