“This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement”
The FCC has announced a tentative agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for 10:30 am on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The meeting will be held online only, and will be streamed live with open captioning at https://www.fcc.gov/general/live.
As part of the agenda, the Commission will consider a draft Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking about Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS). If adopted, this item would bring IP CTS compensation into line with the actual costs of providing the service and would propose services quality measures and metrics to better evaluate the performance of IP CTS and CTS providers.
What the Report and Order would do:
- On December 1, 2020, transition from the current $1.58 per minute compensation rate to $1.42 per minute until June 30, 2021, and to the target cost-based rate of $1.30 per minute for TRS Fund Year 2021-22 (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022), saving the TRS Fund approximately $200 million over the next 19 months.
- Apply the compensation rates in a technologically neutral manner to all forms of IP CTS.
What the Order on Reconsideration would do:
- Deny a petition to reconsider the interim compensation rates for TRS Fund Years 2018-19 and 2019-20, which saved the TRS Fund more than $350 million.
What the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would do:
- Propose to adopt measurable standards for IP CTS and CTS captioning delay and accuracy and seek comment on appropriate metrics.
- Propose guidelines for testing telephone captioning services against performance standards.
- Seek comment on the appropriate entity for carrying out performance measurements.
September 30 Meeting News Release:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-september-open-meeting-6
Word: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-366779A1.docx
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-366779A1.pdf
Text: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-366779A1.txt
Public Draft of IP CTS item:
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-366787A1.pdf
Text: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-366787A1.txt
General information about TRS is available at https://www.fcc.gov/trs. For further information, please contact Michael Scott, Disability Rights Office, CGB, at (202) 418-1264 or Michael.Scott@fcc.gov. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).