**DA 04-2061**

**Released: July 9, 2004**

**The Federal Communications Commission Reminds TRS Providers of
Upcoming Deadlines concerning Captioned Telephone VCO Service**

**CC Docket 98-67**

By this Public Notice, the FCC reminds Telecommunications Relay Service
(TRS) providers that offer captioned telephone Voice Carry Over (VCO)
service that the one-year waiver of the requirement that they offer
access via 711 to captioned telephone VCO service for inbound calls made
*to* a captioned telephone user expires at midnight on July 31,
2004.[^1] Providers are also reminded that the annual reports required
for the various three-year waivers of TRS mandatory minimum standards
set forth in the Declaratory Ruling are due on August 2, 2004.[^2]

On August 1, 2003, the Commission released the captioned telephone VCO
service Declaratory Ruling finding that: (1) captioned telephone VCO
service is a type of TRS; (2) eligible providers of such service are
eligible to recover their costs in accordance with section 225 of the
Communications Act; (3) certain TRS mandatory minimum standards do not
apply to the provision of captioned telephone VCO service; and (4)
certain TRS mandatory minimum standards are waived for captioned
telephone VCO service for certain time periods.

Annual reports required to be filed pursuant to the captioned telephone
VCO service Declaratory Ruling should be sent by hand or messenger
delivery, by electronic media, by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we continue
to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal mail). The Commission's
contractor, Natek, Inc. will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings or electronic media for the
Commission's Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 110,
Washington, DC 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or
fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the
building. Commercial and electronic media sent by overnight mail (other
than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to
9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal Service
first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be addressed to
445 12^th^ Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of
the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12^th^ Street, SW,
Room TW-B204, Washington, DC 20554. When filing annual reports, please
reference **CC Docket No. 98-67**.

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 12^th^
Street, SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. They may also be
purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and
Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445 12^th^ Street, SW, Room CY-B402,
Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI, Inc. at their web
site: [www.bcpiweb.com](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 & Governmental Affairs Bureau
at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or (202) 418-0432 (TTY). This *Public Notice*
can also be downloaded in Word and Portable Document Format (PDF) at
<http://www.fcc.gov/cgb.dro>.

Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Contact: Traci Randolph (202)
418-0569 (voice), (202) 418-0537 (TTY); e-mail <traci.randolph@fcc.gov>.

**-FCC-**

[^1]: *See Telecommunications Relay Services, and Speech-to-Speech
    Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities,*
    Declaratory Ruling, FCC 03-190, CC Docket No. 98-67, 18 FCC Rcd
    16121 at ¶¶ 1, 32-35 (Aug. 1, 2003).

[^2]: The three-year waivers apply to communications assistants' (CA)
    competency skill requirements, CA oral-to-type test requirement, and
    sequential calls, and are contingent on the filing of annual
    reports. *See id.* at ¶¶ 38-42, 43-44, 45-46, respectively. Although
    the anniversary date of the Declaratory Ruling is August 1, since
    that is a Sunday this year, the Reports will be due August 2.