[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 244 (Thursday, December 21, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 88257-88261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28007]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[CG Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, 13-24 and WC Docket No. 12-375; FCC 22-
51; FCC 22-76; FR ID 191657]
VRS and IP CTS--Commencement of Pending User Registration; Rates
for Interstate Inmate Calling Services
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective and compliance dates.
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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 certain 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, and Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services,
Fourth Report and Order, FCC 22-76. This document is consistent with
the Report and Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a
document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those
rules.
DATES:
Effective date: The amendments to Sec. Sec. 64.611(k)(1)(i)
through (iii) (amendatory instruction 6), 64.6040(c) (amendatory
instruction 11), and 64.6060(a)(5) through (7) (amendatory instruction
12), published at 87 FR 75496, December 9, 2022, are effective December
21, 2023.
Compliance dates: Compliance with Sec. 64.6040(b)(2), published at
87 FR 75496, December 9, 2022, is required by January 1, 2024.
Compliance with Sec. Sec. 64.611(a)(4)(iii) and (iv) and
64.615(a)(6)(v) and (vi), published at 87 FR 57645, September 21, 2022,
for providers of video relay service (VRS), is required on December 21,
2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Scott, Disability Rights
Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-1264, or
email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on December 5,
2023, and December 13, 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, and
[[Page 88258]]
Report and Order FCC 22-76, published at 87 FR 75496, December 9, 2022.
The OMB Control Numbers are 3060-1053 and 3060-1089. The Commission
publishes this document as an announcement of the effective and
compliance dates of the rules. On March 8, 2023, the Commission
published an effective date notification, at 88 FR 14251, for the
programmatic changes adopted in FCC 22-51 that apply to the provision
of Internet Protocol captioned telephone relay service (IP CTS),
specifically 47 CFR 64.611 (amendatory instruction 3) and 64.615
(amendatory instruction 4). 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 Numbers, 3060-
1053 or 3060-1089, 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
December 5, 2023, and December 13, 2023, for the information collection
requirements contained in the Commission's documents FCC 22-51 and FCC
22-76.
Under 5 CFR part 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 Numbers are 3060-1053 and 3060-1089.
The foregoing notification 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: December 13, 2023.
OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 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.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 187,173 respondents; 673,980
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: 342,103 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 captioned telephone relay service
is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund.
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
[[Page 88259]]
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.
On September 30, 2022, the Commission released Rates for Interstate
Inmate Calling Services, FCC 22-76, published at 87 FR 75496, December
9, 2022 (Accessible Carceral Communications Order). To improve access
to communications services for incarcerated people with communications
disabilities, the Commission adopted modifications to the user
registration and verification requirements applicable to the provision
of IP CTS and VRS for use of internet-based TRS in correctional
facilities.
OMB Control No.: 3060-1089.
OMB Approval Date: December 5, 2023.
OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 2026.
Title: Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 10-51
& 03-123.
Form No.: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or
households;
Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 187,019 respondents; 1,836,456
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.05 hours (3 minutes) to 300 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual, monthly, on occasion, on-going, one-
time, and quarterly reporting requirements; recordkeeping requirement;
and third-party disclosure requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for the collection is contained in section 225 of
the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 225. The law was enacted on July 26,
1990, as title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),
Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, and amended by the Twenty-
First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010,
Public Law 111-260, 103(a), 124 Stat. 2751, 2755 (2010) (CVAA); Public
Law 111-265 (technical amendments to CVAA).
Total Annual Burden: 320,484 hours.
Annual Cost Burden: $280,200.
Needs and Uses:
The telecommunications relay service (TRS) program enables access
to the nation's telephone network by persons with hearing and speech
disabilities. In 1991, as required by the Americans with Disabilities
Act and codified at 47 U.S.C. 225, the Commission adopted rules
governing the telecommunications relay services (TRS) program and
procedures for each state TRS program to apply for initial Commission
certification and renewal of Commission certification of each state
program. Telecommunications Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
Report and Order and Request for Comments, document FCC 91-213,
published at 56 FR 36729, August 1, 1991 (1991 TRS Implementation
Order).
Between 2008 and 2011, to integrate internet-based TRS into the
North American Numbering plan and facilitate interoperability,
universal calling, and 911 emergency services, the Commission adopted
rules in three separate orders related to the telephone numbering
system and enhanced 911 (E911) services for users of two forms of
internet-based TRS: Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol
Relay service (IP Relay). See document FCC 08-151, Report and Order,
published at 73 FR 41286, July 18, 2008 (First Numbering Order);
document FCC 08-275, Second Report and Order and Order on
Reconsideration, published at 73 FR 79683, December 30, 2008 (Second
Numbering Order); and document FCC 11-123, Report and Order, published
at 76 FR 59551, September 27, 2011 (internet-based TRS Toll Free
Order).
The rules adopted in these three orders have information collection
requirements that include requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to:
register each user who selects the provider as his or her default
provider, including obtaining a self-certification from each user;
verify the accuracy of each user's registration information; provision
and maintain their registered users' routing information to the TRS
Numbering Directory; place their users' Registered Location and certain
callback information in Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases
across the country and provide a means for their users to update their
Registered Locations; include advisories on their websites and in any
promotional materials addressing numbering and E911 services for VRS or
IP Relay; verify in the TRS Numbering Directory whether each dial-
around user is registered with another provider; and if they provide
equipment to a consumer, make available to other VRS providers enough
information about that equipment to enable another VRS provider
selected as the consumer's default provider to perform all of the
functions of a default provider.
On July 28, 2011, the Commission released Structure and Practices
of the Video Relay Service Program, document FCC 11-118, published at
76 FR 47469, August 5, 2011, and at 76 FR 47476, August 5, 2011 (VRS
Certification Order), adopting final and interim rules--designed to
help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensure quality service, in
the provision of internet-based forms of TRS. On October 17, 2011, the
Commission released Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service
Program, Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order, document FCC 11-155,
published at 76 FR 67070, October 31, 2011 (VRS Certification
Reconsideration Order), modifying two aspects of information collection
requirements contained in the VRS Certification Order.
On June 10, 2013, the Commission made permanent the interim rules
adopted in the VRS Certification Order. Structure and Practices of the
Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, Report and Order, document FCC 13-82, published at 78 FR
40582, July 5, 2013 (2013 VRS Reform Order).
The VRS Certification Order as modified by the VRS Certification
Reconsideration Order and, as applicable, made permanent by the 2013
VRS Reform Order, amended the Commission's process for certifying
internet-based TRS providers as eligible for payment from the
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) for their provision of internet-based TRS to
ensure that internet-based TRS providers receiving certification are
qualified to provide internet-based TRS in compliance with the
Commission's rules and to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse through
improved oversight of such providers. They contain information
collection requirements including: submission of detailed information
in an application for certification that shows the applicant's ability
to comply with the Commission's rules; submission of annual reports
that include updates to
[[Page 88260]]
the provider's information on file with the Commission or a
certification that there are no changes to the information;
requirements for a senior executive of an applicant for internet-based
TRS certification or an internet-based TRS provider, when submitting an
annual compliance report, to certify under penalty of perjury to its
accuracy and completeness; requirements for VRS providers to obtain
prior authorization from the Commission for planned interruptions of
service, to report to the Commission unforeseen interruptions of
service, and to provide notification of temporary service outages,
including updates, to consumers on their websites; and requirements for
internet-based TRS providers that will no longer be providing service
to give their customers notice at least 30-days in advance.
In the 2013 VRS Reform Order, the Commission adopted further
measures to improve the structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS
program, reducing the noted inefficiencies in the program, as well as
reducing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring that the
program makes full use of advances in commercially-available
technology. The Commission required reporting of unauthorized and
unnecessary use of VRS; established a central TRS user registration
database (TRS-URD) for VRS, which incorporates a centralized
eligibility verification requirement to ensure accurate registration
and verification of users, as well as per-call validation, to achieve
more effective prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse; established
procedures to prevent unauthorized changes of a user's default TRS
provider; and established procedures to protect TRS users' customer
proprietary network information (CPNI) from disclosure.
On March 23, 2017, the Commission released Structure and Practices
of the Video Relay Services Program et al., FCC 17-26, published at 82
FR 17754, April 13, 2017 (2017 VRS Improvements Order), which among
other things, allows VRS providers to assign TRS Numbering Directory
10-digit telephone numbers to hearing individuals for the limited
purpose of making point-to-point video calls, and gives VRS providers
the option to participate in an at-home call handling pilot program,
subject to certain limitations, as well as recordkeeping and reporting
requirements.
On May 15, 2019, the Commission released Structure and Practices of
the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, FCC 19-39, published at 84 FR 26364, June 6, 2019 (2019
VRS Program Management Order). The Commission further improved the
structure, efficiency, and quality of the VRS program, reduced the risk
of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensured that the program makes full use
of advances in commercially-available technology. These improvements
include information collection requirements, including: the
establishment of procedures to register enterprise and public
videophones to the TRS-URD; and permitting Qualified Direct Video
Calling (DVC) Entities to access the TRS Numbering Directory and
establishing an application procedure to authorize such access,
including rules governing DVC entities and entry of information in the
TRS Numbering Directory and the TRS-URD.
On August 2, 2019, the Commission released Implementing Kari's Law
and Section 506 of RAY BAUM's Act; Inquiry Concerning 911 Access,
Routing, and Location in Enterprise Communications Systems; Amending
the Definition of Interconnected VoIP Service in Section 9.3 of the
Commission's Rules, FCC 19-76, published at 84 FR 66716, December 5,
2019 (MLTS 911 and Dispatchable Location Order). The Commission amended
its rules to ensure that the dispatchable location is conveyed to a
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with a 911 call, regardless of the
technological platform used. Based on the directive in section 506 of
RAY BAUM'S Act, the Commission adopted dispatchable location
requirements that in effect modified the existing information
collection requirements applicable to VRS, IP Relay, and covered
internet Protocol captioned telephone service by improving the options
for providing accurate location information to PSAPs as part of 911
calls.
Fixed internet-based TRS devices must provide automated
dispatchable location. For non-fixed devices, when dispatchable
location is not technically feasible, internet-based TRS providers may
fall back to Registered Location or provide alternative location
information. As a last resort, internet-based providers may route calls
to Emergency Relay Calling Centers after making a good faith effort to
obtain location data from all available alternative location sources.
Dispatchable location means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911
call that consists of the validated street address of the calling
party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar
information necessary to adequately identify the location of the
calling party. Automated dispatchable location means automatic
generation of dispatchable location. Alternative location information
is location information (which may be coordinate-based) sufficient to
identify the caller's civic address and approximate in-building
location, including floor level, in large buildings.
On January 31, 2020, the Commission released Structure and
Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, FCC 20-7, 85 FR 27309, May 8, 2020 (VRS At-Home
Call Handling Order). The Commission amended its rules to convert the
VRS at-home call handling pilot program into a permanent one, thereby
allowing CAs to work from home. To ensure user privacy and call
confidentiality and to help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, the
modified information collections include requirements for VRS providers
to apply for certification to allow their communications assistants to
handle calls while working at home; monitoring and oversight
requirements; and reporting requirements.
On June 30, 2022, the Commission released 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, FCC
22-51, published at 87 FR 57645, September 21, 2022 (Registration Grace
Period Order). To offer more efficient service to VRS and IP CTS users
without risk of waste, fraud, and abuse to the TRS Fund, the Commission
amended its rules to allow VRS and IP CTS providers to provide
compensable service to a new user for up to two weeks after submitting
the user's information to the TRS URD if the user's identity is
verified within that period.
On September 30, 2022, the Commission released Rates for Interstate
Inmate Calling Services, FCC 22-76, published at 87 FR 75496, December
9, 2022 (Accessible Carceral Communications Order). To improve access
to communications services for incarcerated people with communications
disabilities, the Commission adopted modifications to the user
registration and verification requirements applicable to the provision
of IP CTS and VRS for use of internet-based TRS in correctional
facilities.
[[Page 88261]]
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-28007 Filed 12-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P