[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14251-14252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04753]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 2023 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 14251]]



FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51 and 13-24; FCC 22-51; FR ID 130014]


VRS and IP CTS--Commencement of Pending User Registration

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC 
or Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection 
associated with rules adopted in the Commission's documents 
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities et. al, Report and 
Order, FCC 22-51. This document is consistent with the Report and 
Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the 
Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

DATES: The amendments to Sec. Sec.  64.611 and 64.615 (amendatory 
instructions 3 and 4) published at 87 FR 57645, September 21, 2022, are 
effective March 8, 2023.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on February 
27, 2023, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements contained in the Commission's Report and Order, 
FCC 22-51, published at 87 FR 57645, September 21, 2022. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1053. The Commission publishes this notice as an 
announcement of the effective date of the rules. If you have any 
comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission 
can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, 
please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, via 
email: [email protected]. Please include the OMB Control Number, 
3060-1053, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your 
comments via the internet if you send them to [email protected].
    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).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
February 27, 2023, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the Commission's rules at Sec. Sec.  64.611 and 64.615.
    Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-1053.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1053.
    OMB Approval Date: February 27, 2023.
    OMB Expiration Date: February 28, 2026.
    Title: Misuse of internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP 
CTS); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services 
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 
13-24 and 03-123.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 186,012 respondents; 672,819 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.1 hours (6 minutes) to 40 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, every five years, monthly, and 
ongoing reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirements; Third party 
disclosure requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
found at Sec. 225 [47 U.S.C. 225] Telecommunications Services for 
Hearing-Impaired Individuals; The Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990, (ADA), Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, enacted on July 
26, 1990.
    Total Annual Burden: 339,781 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $72,000.
    Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2003, the Commission released 
Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67, 
Declaratory Ruling, 68 FR 55898, September 28, 2003, clarifying that 
one-line captioned telephone voice carry over (VCO) service is a type 
of telecommunications relay service (TRS) and that eligible providers 
of such services are eligible to recover their costs from the 
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) in accordance with section 225 of the 
Communications Act.
    On July 19, 2005, the Commission released Telecommunication Relay 
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and 
Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 03-123, 
Order, 70 FR 54294, September 14, 2005, clarifying that two-line 
captioned telephone VCO service, like one-line captioned telephone VCO 
service, is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund.
    On January 11, 2007, the Commission released Telecommunications 
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with 
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory 
Ruling, 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007, granting a request for 
clarification that internet Protocol (IP) captioned telephone relay 
service (IP CTS) is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the 
Fund.

[[Page 14252]]

    On August 26, 2013, the Commission issued Misuse of internet 
Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services 
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, 78 FR 
53684, August 30, 2013, to regulate practices relating to the marketing 
of IP CTS, impose certain requirements for the provision of this 
service, and mandate registration and certification of IP CTS users.
    On June 8, 2018, the Commission issued Misuse of internet Protocol 
Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and 
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order and 
Declaratory Ruling, 83 FR 30082, June 27, 2018 (2018 IP CTS 
Modernization Order), to facilitate the Commission's efforts to reduce 
waste, fraud, and abuse and improve its ability to efficiently manage 
the IP CTS program through regulating practices related to the 
marketing of IP CTS, generally prohibiting the provision of IP CTS to 
consumers who do not genuinely need the service, permitting the 
provision of IP CTS in emergency shelters, and approving the use of 
automatic speech recognition to generate captions without the 
assistance of a communications assistant.
    On February 15, 2019, the Commission issued Misuse of internet 
Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services 
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech 
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, and 
Order, 84 FR 8457, March 8, 2019 (2019 IP CTS Program Management 
Order), requiring the submission of IP CTS user registration 
information to the telecommunications relay service (TRS) User 
Registration Database (Database) so that the Database administrator can 
verify IP CTS users to reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse in 
the IP CTS program.
    On June 30, 2022, the Commission issued Telecommunications Relay 
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and 
Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service 
Program; Misuse of internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service, CG 
Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, and 13-24, Report and Order, published at 87 
FR 57645, September 21, 2022 (Registration Grace Period Order), 
allowing IP CTS and Video Relay Service (VRS) providers to provide 
compensable service to a new user for up to two weeks after submitting 
the user's information to the Database if the user's identity is 
verified within that period, in order to offer more efficient service 
to IP CTS and VRS users without risk of waste, fraud, and abuse to the 
Fund.
    The programmatic changes in information collection burdens that 
apply to VRS due to the Registration and Grace Period Order will be 
addressed separately in modifications to information collection No. 
3060-1089.

Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-04753 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P