2015 TRS History Docket

  • Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; ZVRS/Kinderhook Conditional VRS Certification - Dismissal of Opposition, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, DA 15-119, adopted January 28, 2015, released January 28, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau dismisses ASL Services Holdings' opposition to ZVRS/Kinderhook's application for VRS certification.

  • 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, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 08-15 and 03-123, DA 15-141, adopted January 30, 2015, released January 30, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB or Bureau) denies a request for clarification by AT&T Services, Inc. (AT&T) that its method of muting the voices of speech-to-speech relay service (STS) users prior to June 10, 2014, was in compliance with the Commission’s STS Voice Muting Rule. At the same time, the Bureau finds good cause to grant AT&T a retroactive limited waiver of the STS Voice Muting Rule for the period from October 15, 2013, the date when the rule became effective, to June 10, 2014, the date when AT&T modified its platform to come into compliance with this rule.

  • Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, DA 15-173, adopted February 6, 2015, released February 6, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau granted a waiver of the requirement for all providers of IP CTS to obtain the last four digits of each new and existing user's Social Security number, in those instances where the user does not have a Social Security number.

  • Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Sorenson Communications, Inc.; Petition for Waiver, (Order), CG Docket No. 10-51, DA 15-186, adopted February 9, 2015, released February 9, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, on its own motion and pursuant to delegated authority, dismisses as moot a petition, filed by Sorenson Communications, Inc., requesting that the Federal Communications Commission waive certain requirements to collect and submit IP addresses in order to receive compensation for the provision of Internet Protocol Relay service.

  • Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Miracom USA, Inc. (now InnoCaption, Inc.), Certification to Provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS); Review of InnoCaption, Inc., Request for Review of Withholding of TRS Fund Compensation Payments, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 13-24, 10-51, and 03-123, DA 15-427, adopted April 7, 2015, released April 7, 2015

The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB or Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) suspends the conditional certification of InnoCaption, Inc. (InnoCaption), to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), effective April 7, 2015, at 10:00 p.m. eastern daylight time. The Bureau finds that InnoCaption has failed to operate its IP CTS in compliance with the Commission’s TRS emergency calling requirements, from the commencement of service in 2014 through the date of the Order.

The Bureau therefore suspends InnoCaption’s conditional certification to provide Fund-supported IP CTS commencing April 7, 2015. To lift the suspension and avoid revocation of its conditional certification, InnoCaption must implement compliant 911 calling arrangements, demonstrate that the Company is in compliance with the emergency calling requirements for telecommunications relay services, and fully comply with the other requirements of the Order within six (6) months of the effective date of the Order.

The effective date of the Order is April 7, 2015.

  • Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program and Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, DA 15-589, adopted May 14, 2015, released May 15, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission), on its own motion, grants a temporary, limited waiver of the requirement for providers of Video Relay Service (VRS) to obtain from each new and existing user the last four digits of the user’s Social Security number or a Tribal identification number as part of the VRS user registration process (Social Security Number Rule) in those instances where the user does not have a Social Security or Tribal identification number. The waiver of the Social Security Number Rule, granted for a limited period of time, became effective May 15, 2015 and will remain in effect until such time as the Commission takes final action on VRS registration procedures pursuant to its open rulemakings on VRS matters.

  • Rolka Loube Associates LLC Submits Payment Formulas and Funding Requirement for the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund for the 2015-2016 Fund Year, (Public Notice), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, DA 15-612, released May 20, 2015

In the Public Notice, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau seeks comment on the provider compensation rates, funding requirement, and carrier contribution factor proposed by Rolka Loube Associates LLC, the Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) administrator, for telecommunications relay services compensated by the Fund for the period from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016.

  • Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, (Order), CG Docket No. 03-123, DA 15-661, adopted June 4, 2015, released June 4, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau grants Sprint Corporation a brief extension of a limited and temporary waiver of the Federal Communications Commission's speed-of-answer requirements for Internet Protocol (IP Relay) Service. IP Relay providers are required to answer 85 percent of calls within 10 seconds, measured daily. This extension is effective April 15, 2015, the expiration date of the prior waiver, and will remain in effect through June 30, 2015.

  • Reminder to States and Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Providers that the Annual Summary of Consumer Complaints is due by July 1, 2015; Reminder of Ongoing Obligation to Report Contact Information and Substantive Changes in TRS Programs, (Public Notice), CG Docket No. 03-123, DA 15-671, released June 9, 2015

The Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) reminds states and providers of interstate telecommunications relay services (TRS) that they must submit their annual consumer complaint log summaries covering the 12-month period from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015, on or before Tuesday, July 1, 2015.

CGB also reminds certified state TRS programs, interstate TRS providers, and TRS providers that have state contracts that, pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 64.604(c)(2), they must submit to the Commission the name of a contact person and/or office for the receipt of inquiries and complaints from consumers about the certified state TRS program’s intrastate service or, as appropriate, about the TRS provider’s service. The submission must include the name and address of the state or TRS office that receives complaints, grievances, inquiries and suggestions; the voice, TTY, and fax numbers for that office; the email address; and the physical address to which correspondence should be sent.

The Commission must be notified each time there is a change in any of this required information. Any changes in contact information for certified state TRS programs and/or interstate TRS providers should be sent to TRS_POC@fcc.gov.

  • Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 12-38 and 03-123, DA 15-680, adopted June 10, 2015, released June 10, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) extends the previously granted waiver of the requirement that providers of Internet Protocol Relay (IP Relay) service handle 911 calls initiated by callers who have been registered but not verified by an IP Relay provider. The Bureau concludes that the waiver extension is necessary to prevent the resumption of a harmful practice while the Commission considers how to address this issue on a permanent basis. Therefore, the waiver, which expired on April 29, 2015, is extended retroactively to April 29, 2015, and will remain in effect until such time as the Commission resolves whether to adopt a permanent prohibition against the handling of 911 calls from callers whose registration information has not been verified prior to placement of the call.

  • Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, DA 15-774, adopted June 30, 2015, released June 30, 2015

In the Order, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) adopts per-minute compensation rates to be paid from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund (TRS Fund, or Fund) for the Fund Year beginning July 1, 2015, for all telecommunications relay services (TRS). The Order also determines the total size of the TRS Fund for the coming year and the contribution factor, i.e., the percentage factor used to calculate how much interstate and international revenue telecommunications carriers and other covered service providers must contribute to the TRS Fund.

Effective July 1, 2015, the per-minute compensation rates for TRS, other than video relay service (VRS), shall be: (1) for interstate traditional TRS, $2.2904; (2) for interstate Speech-to-Speech relay service (STS), $3.4214; (3) for interstate captioned telephone service (CTS) and Internet Protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS), $1.8895; and (4) for IP Relay, $1.37. These rates are based on recommendations of the current Fund administrator, Rolka Loube Associates (Rolka Loube).

VRS compensation rates for the 2015-16 Fund Year were established in the VRS Reform Order as part of a “glide path” toward cost-based levels pending the implementation of the structural reforms directed in that order. The applicable per-minute VRS compensation rates for the period from July 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015, are: Tier I (a provider’s 1st 500,000 monthly minutes), $5.06; Tier II (a provider’s 2nd 500,000 monthly minutes), $4.82; and Tier III (a provider’s monthly minutes in excess of 1 million), $4.06. The applicable per-minute VRS compensation rates for the period from January 1, 2016, through June 30, 2016, are: Tier I, $4.82; Tier II, $4.82; Tier III, $3.87. In setting these rates, CGB does not address the merits of the proposal filed by the six currently certified VRS providers in which they urged the Commission to “freeze” the current VRS compensation rates. Action on that proposal will be addressed separately from the Order.

Based on these compensation rates, projected demand for the services, and projected Fund administration expenses, CGB adopts a funding requirement of $1,048,050,673 and a carrier contribution factor of 0.01635, as proposed by Rolka Loube.

  • Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service; Sprint Communications Company L.P., Request for Review of Withholding of TRS Compensation Payment, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, DA 15-922, adopted August 14, 2015, released August 14, 2015

The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB or Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) directs that payment be made from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Fund (TRS Fund) to Sprint Communications Company L.P. (Sprint), as described herein, for the provision of Web CapTel service, a form of Internet Protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS), for the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of the Order.

The compensation at issue was withheld by the TRS Fund administrator, Rolka Loube, pending a determination as to whether the service was provided in compliance with the Commission’s emergency call handling requirements, as described below. By this letter, CGB finds that there is no valid basis for a finding of noncompliance, and thus, direct Rolka Loube to release all compensation withheld and otherwise owed for the period specified.

  • Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, (Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, FCC 15-143, adopted October 21, 2015, released November 3, 2015

In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission proposes to modify in part the four-year compensation rate plan for video relay service (VRS) adopted in 2013, by adopting a limited-duration compensation rate freeze applicable to VRS providers with 500,000 or fewer monthly minutes. Under this proposed modification, such providers will receive compensation at a rate of $5.29 per minute for a maximum of 16 months beginning July 1, 2015. The Commission also seeks comment on whether to adopt a number of measures that could enhance the functional equivalence of VRS.

  • Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Service Numbering, Et. al.; Waiver of Sections 64.613(a)(4), 64.613(b)(2) and 64.623(c) of the Commission's rules to Permit VTCSECURE and the MITRE Corporation to Access the TRS Numbering Directory, (Order), CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123, and WC Docket No. 10-191, DA 15-1349, adopted November 23, 2015, released November 23, 2015

Waived certain Commission's rules to permit VTCSecure and MITRE Corporation to access the TRS Numbering Directory to the extent necessary to carry out assigned tasks related to their contractual responsibilities.

  • Request for Comment on Petition for Rulemaking Filed by IDT Telecom, Inc., Regarding Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund Contribution, (Public Notice), CG Docket No. 03-123, DA 15-1453, released December 18, 2015

On November 25, 2015, IDT Telecom, Inc. filed a petition for rulemaking requesting that the Commission issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to review and revise its rules and policies on the contribution methodology for the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund.

Bureau/Office:
Consumer and Governmental Affairs
Updated:
Wednesday, May 25, 2022