[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10844-10847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00792]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket Nos. 03-123, FCC 20-105; FRS 17377]


Telecommunications Relay Service Rules Modernization

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) eliminates two Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) 
mandatory minimum standards because they are no longer necessary to 
provide functional equivalence with voice services, and ceases Federal 
Register publication of applications for certification of state TRS 
programs in favor of providing notice on the Commission's website and 
in its Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS).

DATES: Effective Date: These rules are effective March 25, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Wallace, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-2716, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report

[[Page 10845]]

and Order, document FCC 20-105, adopted on August 4, 2020, released on 
August 5, 2020, in CG Docket No. 03-123. The Commission previously 
sought comment on these issues in a Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (2019 TRS Rules Modernization FNPRM), published at 85 FR 
1134, January 9, 2020. The full text of document FCC 20-105 will be 
available for public inspection and copying via the Commission's 
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). 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.

Congressional Review Act

    The Commission sent a copy of document FCC 20-105 to Congress and 
the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional 
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    Document FCC 20-105 does not contain new or modified proposed 
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 modified 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).

Synopsis

    1. The Commission updates certain rules governing 
telecommunications relay services (TRS) to improve the efficiency and 
cost-effectiveness of TRS for both TRS providers and users. In keeping 
with current technology and prevailing offerings in the voice 
communications market, the Commission repeals the ``equal access'' and 
``billing options'' requirements for TRS providers. The Commission also 
ceases Federal Register publication of state requests for TRS program 
certifications, relying instead on publication of these applications in 
the Commission's electronic document management system and on its 
website.
    2. Equal Access and Billing Options Requirements. As required by 
section 225 of the Communications Act (the Act), as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
225, the Commission's rules prescribe mandatory minimum standards to 
ensure that TRS providers offer telephone services for persons with 
hearing and speech disabilities that are functionally equivalent to 
voice communication services. The ``equal access'' rule provides that 
``TRS users shall have access to their chosen interexchange carrier 
through the TRS, and to all other operator services to the same extent 
that such access is provided to voice users,'' and the ``billing 
options'' requirement directs TRS providers to offer ``the same billing 
options (e.g., sent-paid long distance, operator-assisted, collect, and 
third party billing) traditionally offered for wireline voice 
services.''
    3. In 2014, the Commission revisited these rules in part. The 
Commission recognized that the voice communications marketplace had 
undergone major changes since the rules were adopted in 1991. As a 
result, consumers of Voice over internet Protocol and mobile telephone 
services routinely received long distance service as a bundled feature 
of their service plans, with no separate time- or distance-sensitive 
fees, eliminating the need for equal access and alternative billing 
options. The Commission concluded that these features had become 
unnecessary to ensure functional equivalence for internet-based forms 
of TRS in cases where the internet-based TRS provider is not charging 
users for long distance service. As a result, the equal access and 
billing options requirements currently only apply to the three non-
internet-based forms of TRS, which are provided through state programs.
    4. Federal Register Publication. Section 225 of the Act provides 
that states choosing to establish state TRS programs for intrastate 
service must request and receive certification for such programs from 
the Commission. Since 1991, the Commission's TRS rules have required 
that, upon the filing of state certification applications, a notice 
seeking public comment on such applications shall be published in the 
Federal Register. In 2000, the Commission established EDOCS, and 
decided that notice of applications for certification of internet-based 
forms on TRS would be published in EDOCS and on the Commission's 
website, with no requirement to publish such notice in the Federal 
Register.
    5. Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In the 2019 TRS Rules 
Modernization FNPRM, the Commission proposed (1) to repeal the equal 
access and billing options rules for all TRS providers and (2) to cease 
Federal Register publication of state TRS certification applications in 
favor of publication on its website and in EDOCS.
    6. Repeal of Equal Access Rule. The Commission repeals the equal 
access requirement in its entirety. This rule is no longer needed to 
ensure the functional equivalence of TRS. Because voice customers today 
typically obtain telephone service by paying a bundled or flat rate 
without time or distance differentials for long distance calls, the 
ability to select a long distance provider is no longer an essential 
aspect of telephone service, and the Commission has terminated equal 
access requirements for voice service. Further, section 225 of the Act 
only requires TRS to include equal access ``to the same extent that 
such access is provided to voice users,'' and there are few situations 
in which a TRS provider would be obligated to provide equal access 
under the current rule, even if a consumer were to request such access.
    7. This unnecessary rule also burdens TRS providers with the cost 
of maintaining an equal access infrastructure, hindering the efficient 
provision of TRS. Deleting the equal access rule will allow TRS 
providers to modernize their TRS facilities and discontinue what can be 
a confusing and time-consuming call setup process.
    8. Clarification Regarding Financial Incentives. The Commission 
clarifies that, when TRS providers allow consumers to make long 
distance calls without incurring per-minute charges, such offerings do 
not constitute an impermissible financial incentive for TRS use. In 
today's marketplace, the widespread bundling of long distance and local 
calling negates any risk that offering free long distance to TRS users 
would create an impermissible incentive to make long distance calls. 
This clarification is limited to the specific issue regarding per-
minute charges for long distance service and does not, for example, 
authorize a TRS provider to reimburse or otherwise assume payment for 
charges currently assessed on TRS users for internet access or 
telephone service.
    9. Repeal of Billing Options Requirement. The Commission repeals 
the billing options requirement in its entirety. Alternative billing 
options are disappearing from the world of voice services, and thus 
options such as sent-paid long distance and collect, calling card, and 
third-party billing are no longer essential to ensure that TRS is 
functionally equivalent to voice service.
    10. Eliminating this obligation will relieve TRS providers from any 
need to maintain obsolete features of circuit-switched networks at a 
time when they and others within the communications industry have been 
transitioning to IP-based platforms. In addition to

[[Page 10846]]

functional equivalence and efficiency, allowing TRS users access to 
improvements in technology is another one of the Commission's mandates 
under section 225 of the Act. Repealing the billing options rule will 
benefit TRS providers and users by allowing technological improvements 
with no consequential costs or harms to the functional equivalence and 
efficiency of TRS.
    11. Ceasing Federal Register Publication. The Commission deletes 
the requirement that public notices of applications for certification 
of state TRS programs be published in the Federal Register. This action 
will improve the efficiency of the Commission's TRS certification 
process and conserve administrative resources, and will not conflict 
with statutory requirements or the Commission's ability to make 
informed certification decisions. Federal Register publication of state 
certification applications is not required by section 225 of the Act or 
the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq. Such 
certifications do not involve rulemaking, and the Commission's review 
is conducted based on the documentation submitted by a state, with no 
adjudicatory hearing ordinarily needed to determine whether a state 
program merits certification. Moreover, for comparable Commission 
authorization processes, such as certifications for internet-based TRS 
providers and common-carrier applications for certificates of ``public 
convenience and necessity,'' Federal Register publication is not 
required unless special circumstances apply.
    12. Ceasing Federal Register publication will not prevent or deter 
public input on state TRS certification proposals. Since this rule was 
adopted, the Commission has introduced an internet-based document 
management system, which makes public notices requesting comment on 
applications (as well as the applications themselves) readily 
accessible through the Commission's EDOCS and ECFS on the Commission's 
website. Posting electronic notices of state TRS certification 
applications via EDOCS and the Commission's website will provide 
sufficient notice to enable interested members of the public to comment 
on an application.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 as amended, 
the Commission incorporated an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA) into the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Commission 
sought written public comment on the proposals in the 2019 TRS Rules 
Modernization FNPRM, including comment on the IRFA.

Need For, and Objectives of, the Rules

    13. Document FCC 20-105 eliminates the outdated equal access and 
multiple billing options requirements form the TRS mandatory minimum 
standards and streamlines Commission processes by ceasing Federal 
Register publications of state requests for TRS program certification, 
while continuing to publish notice of certification applications in the 
Commission's electronic document management system and on the 
Commission's website.

Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response to 
the IRFA

    14. No comments were filed in response to the IRFA.

Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration

    15. The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in response to the 
proposed rules in this proceeding.

Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the 
Rules Will Apply

    16. The amendments to rules adopted in the Report and Order will 
affect the obligations of non-internet based TRS providers. These 
services can be included within the broad economic category of All 
Other Telecommunications.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    17. Elimination of the equal access and billing options for TRS 
providers and ceasing Federal Register publication for state TRS 
program certification applications do not create direct reporting, 
recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements on TRS providers.

Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Impact on Small Entities, and 
Significant Alternatives Considered

    18. Repeal of the equal access and billing options requirements 
will reduce the burden on small entities subject to the rule. Such 
entities would no longer need to provide TRS users with the ability to 
select their long distance carrier or offer billing options, and the 
providers would no longer be required to configure their networks for 
such functionalities. Other small entities would not be affected.
    19. Eliminating the requirement for the Commission to publish in 
the Federal Register notice of applications for certification of state 
TRS programs will have no impact on small entities because only the 
Commission is burdened by this obligation.

Ordering Clauses

    20. Pursuant to sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, document FCC 20-105 is 
adopted, and the Commission's rules are amended.
    21. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of the Report and 
Order, including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64

    Individuals with disabilities, Telecommunications, 
Telecommunications relay services. Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR 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. 151, 152, 154, 201, 202, 217, 218, 220, 
222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 262, 276, 
403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 1401-1473, unless otherwise noted; Pub. 
L. 115-141, Div. P, sec. 503, 132 Stat. 348, 1091.


0
2. Amend Sec.  64.604 by revising paragraph (a)(3)(ii) to read as 
follows and removing and reserving paragraph (b)(3):


Sec.  64.604   Mandatory Minimum Standards.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) Relay services shall be capable of handling any type of call 
normally provided by telecommunications carriers unless the Commission 
determines that it is not technologically feasible to do so. Relay 
service providers have the burden of proving the infeasibility of 
handling any type of call.
* * * * *

0
3. Amend Sec.  64.606 by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:

[[Page 10847]]

Sec.  64.606   internet-based TRS provider and TRS program 
certification.

    (a) * * * (1) Certified state program. Any state, through its 
office of the governor or other delegated executive office empowered to 
provide TRS, desiring to establish a state program under this section 
shall submit documentation to the Commission addressed to the Federal 
Communications Commission, Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs 
Bureau, TRS Certification Program, Washington, DC 20554, and captioned 
``TRS State Certification Application.'' All documentation shall be 
submitted in narrative form, shall clearly describe the state program 
for implementing intrastate TRS, and the procedures and remedies for 
enforcing any requirements imposed by the state program. The Commission 
shall give public notice of state applications for certification.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-00792 Filed 2-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P