[Federal Register: November 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 211)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 61813-61815]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01no07-8]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC
Docket No. 92-105; DA 07-4178]
IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2)
of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; The Use of N11 Codes
and Other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; petition for waiver.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission grants in part and denies in
part petitions filed by the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition, United
States Telecom Association (USTelecom) and Hamilton Telephone Company
(Hamilton) seeking a stay or waiver of certain aspects of the
Commission's Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Telecommunications
Relay Services (TRS) Order (VoIP TRS Order). The Commission recognizes
that, in certain circumstances, there are technical challenges to the
ability of interconnected VoIP providers to route 711 abbreviated TRS
dialing access calls to an ``appropriate relay center,'' as that term
is clarified herein. Similarly, the Commission recognizes that, in
certain circumstances, TRS providers receiving 711 emergency calls via
an interconnected VoIP service may not be able to determine an
appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) to call in compliance
with the TRS emergency call handling requirements. As a result, the
Commission finds good cause to grant to interconnected VoIP providers a
limited, six month waiver of the requirement that they route 711 calls
to an appropriate relay center. The Commission also finds good cause to
grant for a period of six months a limited waiver of the TRS emergency
call handling requirements, as applied to interconnected VoIP
customers, so that TRS providers can implement a means of directing the
outbound leg of a 711 call received via an interconnected VoIP service
to an appropriate PSAP.
DATES: Effective October 9, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20554.
[[Page 61814]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-7395 (voice), or e-mail:
Lisa.Boehley@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document does not contain new or
modified information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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). On June 15, 2007, the Commission released the
VoIP TRS Order, published at 72 FR 43546, August 6, 2007, WC Docket No.
04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-
105, FCC 07-110.
This is a summary of the Commission's order in document DA 07-4178,
IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of
The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons with Disabilities;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; The Use of N11 Codes
and other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements, WC Docket No. 04-36, CG
Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105,
adopted October 9, 2007, released October 9, 2007. Document DA 07-4178
also contains a separate public notice seeking comment on the petitions
for stay or waiver filed by the VON Coalition, USTelecom, and Hamilton.
The full text of document DA 07-4178 and copies of any subsequently
filed documents in this matter will be available for public inspection
and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference
Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257,
Washington, DC 20554. Document DA 07-4178 and copies of subsequently
filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street,
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact the
Commission's duplicating contractor at its Web site: http://www.bcpiweb.com
or call 1-800-378-3160. To request materials in
accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print,
electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or
call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Document DA 07-4178 can also be
downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/headlines.html
.
Synopsis
In the VoIP TRS Order, the Commission required interconnected VoIP
providers to offer 711 abbreviated dialing access to TRS ``to ensure
that TRS calls can be made from any telephone, anywhere in the United
States, and that such calls will be properly routed to the appropriate
relay center.'' In document DA 07-4178, the Commission clarifies that,
in requiring an interconnected VoIP provider to route 711 calls to the
``appropriate relay center,'' the Commission intended to signify the
relay center(s) serving the state in which the caller is geographically
located, or the relay center(s) corresponding to the caller's last
registered address. The Commission concludes that this is the most
natural interpretation of the term ``appropriate relay center'' in the
context where a 711 call is being transmitted via an interconnected
VoIP service as a substitute for the public switched telephone network
(PSTN). Clarifying ``appropriate relay center'' in this manner is also
essential to ensuring that TRS providers can make the outbound leg of
the TRS call to an ``appropriate PSAP.''
Nevertheless, the Commission recognizes that, in certain
circumstances, the telephone number associated with a VoIP call will
not correspond to the geographic location of the caller. In light of
these technical challenges to the ability of interconnected VoIP
providers to route 711 calls to an appropriate relay center, the
Commission finds good cause to grant a limited waiver of the 711 call
handling requirement for interconnected VoIP providers. Although
interconnected VoIP providers are required to transmit 711 calls to a
relay center, the Commission waives the requirement for a period of six
months insofar as it requires them to transmit the 711 call to an
appropriate relay center, as clarified above. In doing so, the
Commission denies the VON Coalition and USTelecom requests to the
extent they seek such relief for a longer period of time. The
Commission agrees with the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible
Technology (COAT) that ``a brief extension of time for each of these
requests may be merited,'' but that ``a two year extension of the FCC's
deadline on this matter, one which can affect the life, safety and
health of people who rely on TRS for emergency access * * * is not in
the public interest.'' The Commission thus grants a limited waiver so
that interconnected VoIP providers can implement a means of routing 711
calls, in all cases, to an appropriate relay center.
Similarly, the Commission recognizes that, in certain
circumstances, TRS providers receiving 711 emergency calls via an
interconnected VoIP service may not be able to determine an appropriate
PSAP to call in compliance with the TRS emergency call handling
requirements of Sec. 64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules. Section
64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules requires TRS providers to use a
system for incoming emergency calls that ``automatically and
immediately'' routes the outbound leg of a TRS call to an appropriate
PSAP. Based on the record before the Commission, however, it appears
that, under certain circumstances, TRS providers receiving a call via
an interconnected VoIP service may be unable to call an appropriate
PSAP to respond to an emergency call. Moreover, it appears that certain
TRS providers may be unable to access and/or connect to a national
database of PSAPs in the event that a TRS provider receives an
emergency 711 call from an out-of-state caller, making impossible the
automatic routing of such a call to an appropriate PSAP. For these
reasons, the Commission grants TRS providers in this situation a
limited, six month waiver of the emergency call handling requirements
of Sec. 64.604(a)(4) of the Commission's rules insofar as, despite
their best efforts, they may not be able to make the outbound call to
an appropriate PSAP that corresponds to the caller's actual location.
During the pendency of this waiver, the Commission requires a TRS
provider that cannot automatically and immediately route to an
appropriate PSAP the outbound leg of an emergency 711 call placed via
TTY by an interconnected VoIP user, as required by Sec. 64.604(a)(4)
of the Commission's rules, to implement a manual system for doing so,
to the extent feasible, that accomplishes the proper routing of
emergency 711 calls as efficiently as possible. Further, during this
waiver period, the Commission requires interconnected VoIP providers
and traditional TRS providers to take steps to remind individuals with
hearing or speech disabilities to dial 911 directly (as a text-to-text,
TTY-to-TTY call) in an emergency, whether using a PSTN-
[[Page 61815]]
based service or interconnected VoIP service, rather than making a TRS
call via 711 in an emergency. Finally, for the reasons discussed above
in limiting the duration of the waiver of the Commission's 711 call
handling requirements for interconnected VoIP providers, the Commission
believes that the public interest dictates that it limits this waiver
relief for TRS providers to a period of six months.
Congressional Review Act
The Commission will not send a copy of document DA 07-4178 in a
report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A),
because the document is not amending or revising the Commission's
existing rules.
Ordering Clauses
Pursuant to Sections 1, 2, and 225 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, and Sections 0.141,
0.361, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.141, 0.316 and 1.3,
document DA 07-4178 is adopted.
The VON Coalition Petition, USTelecom Petition, and Hamilton
Petition are granted in part, and denied in part, as set forth herein.
Federal Communications Commission.
Catherine W. Seidel,
Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E7-21525 Filed 10-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P