54294 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

B. Review Under Procedural Statutes 

and Executive Orders 

We have reviewed this final rule 

under the following statutes and 

executive orders governing rulemaking 

procedures: The Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et 

seq.; the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.; the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.; the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq. Executive Order 12866 

(Regulatory Planning and Review), as 

amended by Executive Order 13258; and 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism). 

Since this rule merely extends the 

expiration date of subpart E, the 

information in the compliance 

statements that we published on April 

17, 2003 with the existing rule 

continues to apply. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 160 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Computer technology, 

Electronic transactions, Employer 

benefit plan, Health, Health care, Health 

facilities, Health insurance, Health 

records, Hospitals, Investigations, 

Medicaid, Medical research, Medicare, 

Penalties, Privacy, Reporting and record 

keeping requirements, Security. 

Dated: September 7, 2005. 

Michael O. Leavitt, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–18254 Filed 9–13–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[CC Docket No. 98–67 and CG Docket No. 

03–123; FCC 05–141] 

Telecommunications Relay Services 

and Speech-to-Speech Services for 

Individuals With Hearing and Speech 

Disabilities 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Clarification. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission concludes that two-line 

captioned telephone service is a type of 

telecommunications relay service (TRS) 

eligible for compensation from the 

Interstate TRS Fund. The Commission 

also approves the National Exchange 

Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA), the 

Interstate TRS Fund Administrator, 

proposed allocation methodology for 

determining the number of inbound 

two-line captioned telephone minutes 

that should be compensated from the 

Interstate TRS Fund. Also in this 

document, the Commission seeks 

approval from the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for any Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) burdens contained 

in this document that will modify OMB 

Control No. 3060–1053 to have TRS 

providers offering two-line captioned 

telephone service along with TRS 

providers offering one-line captioned 

telephone service file annual reports 

with the Commission. 

DATES: Effective October 14, 2005. 

Written comments on the PRA modified 

information collection requirements 

must be submitted by the general 

public, Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), and other interested 

parties on or before November 14, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit PRA 

comments identified by [CG Docket No. 

03–123 and/or OMB Control Number 

3060–1053], by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s Web site: http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Parties who choose to file 

by e-mail should submit their comments 

to Leslie Smith at Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov 

and to Kristy L. LaLonde at 

Kristy_L.LaLonde@omb.eop.gov. Please 

include the docket number and/or OMB 

Control number in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Mail: Parties who choose to file by 

paper should submit their comments to 

Leslie Smith, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–A804, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, and 

to Kristy L. LaLonde, OMB Desk Officer, 

Room 10234 NEOB, 725 17th Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20503. 

• People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone (202) 418–0539 or TTY: (202) 

418–0432. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Chandler, Consumer & 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–1475 (voice), (202) 418–0597 

(TTY), or e-mail 

Thomas.Chandler@fcc.gov. For 

additional information concerning the 

PRA information collection 

requirements contained in the 

document, contact Leslie Smith at (202) 

418–0217, or via the Internet at 

Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Order contains modified information 

collection requirements subject to the 

PRA of 1995, Public Law 104–13. These 

will be submitted to OMB for review 

under section 3507 of the PRA. OMB, 

the general public, and other Federal 

agencies are invited to comment on the 

modified information collection(s) 

contained in this proceeding. This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Order, 

adopted July 14, 2005, released July 19, 

2005. 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. 

The full text of the Order 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. The Order and 

copies of subsequently filed documents 

in this matter may also be purchased 

from the Commission’s duplicating 

contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. 

(BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., 

Room CY–B402, Washington, DC 20554. 

Customers may contact BCPI at their 

Web site: 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), (202) 

418–0432 (TTY). This Order can also be 

downloaded in Word or Portable 

Document Format (PDF) at: http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Order contains modified 

information collection requirements. 

The Commission, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

burdens, invites the general public to 

comment on the information collection 

requirements contained in the Order as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104–13. 

Public and agency comments are due 

November 14, 2005. In addition, the 

Commission notes that pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4), the Commission previously 

sought specific comment on how it 

might ‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ In this present document, 

the Commission has assessed the effects 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 54295 

of its determination that two-line 

captioned telephone service is a type of 

TRS eligible for compensation from the 

Interstate TRS Fund, and finds that such 

action will not affect businesses with 

fewer than 25 employees. 

Synopsis 

One-Line and Two-Line Captioned 

Telephone Service 

In the August 2003 Captioned 

Telephone Declaratory Ruling, the 

Commission concluded that captioned 

telephone Voice Carry Over (VCO) 

service is a type of TRS, and that 

eligible providers of such services are 

eligible to recover their costs in 

accordance with Section 225 of the 

Communications Act. See 

Telecommunications Relay Services, 

and Speech-to-Speech Services for 

Individuals with Hearing and Speech 

Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98–67, 

Declaratory Ruling, 18 FCC Rcd 16121, 

August 1, 2003, published at 68 FR 

55898, September 29, 2003, (Captioned 

Telephone Declaratory Ruling) 

recognizing captioned telephone service 

as a form of telecommunications relay 

service (TRS). Captioned telephone 

service uses a special telephone that has 

a text display. It permits, on one 

standard telephone line, the user—

typically someone who has the ability to 

speak and some residual hearing—to 

both listen to what is said over the 

telephone and simultaneously read 

captions of what the other person is 

saying. A communications assistant 

(CA) using specially developed voice 

recognition technology generates the 

captions. No typing is involved. The 

Captioned Telephone Declaratory 

Ruling permits providers of interstate 

captioned telephone service to be 

compensated from the Interstate TRS 

Fund. 

To use one-line captioned telephone 

service, the captioned telephone user 

dials the number of the person she 

wishes to call. Unlike with other forms 

of TRS, the user does not dial the 

number of a TRS provider (or the 711 

access number). Although the user has 

dialed the number of the other party, the 

captioned telephone automatically calls 

a captioned telephone CA at a TRS 

facility. The TRS provider, in turn, calls 

the number of the called party, and all 

three parties (the captioned telephone 

user, the CA, and the called party) are 

connected. Unlike ‘‘traditional’’ TRS, 

where the CA would type what the 

called party says, the CA instead repeats 

or re-voices what the called party says 

and voice recognition technology 

automatically transcribes the CA’s voice 

into text, which is then transmitted 

directly to the user and displayed on the 

captioned telephone. As a result, the 

captions appear on the captioned 

telephone at nearly the same time the 

user hears the called party’s spoken 

words. Throughout the call the CA is 

completely transparent and does not 

participate in the call by voicing any 

part of the conversation; there is no 

interaction with the CA by either party 

to the call. Calls may be placed to 

captioned telephone users via a 

provider’s toll free access number. 

When such an ‘‘inbound’’ captioned 

telephone call is made, the caller is 

prompted by a recording to enter the 

number he or she wishes to call, and the 

call is automatically processed. 

The Captioned Telephone Declaratory 

Ruling did not address two-line 

captioned telephone service, and 

Petitioners now seek clarification that 

this type of captioned telephone service 

is also a type of TRS eligible for 

compensation from the Interstate TRS 

Fund. See Ultratec, Inc., Sprint 

Corporation, and Hamilton Relay, Inc., 

Request for Clarification, CC Docket No. 

98–67 and CG Docket No. 03–123, filed 

December 7, 2004 (Ultratec Petition). 

The Commission refers to Ultratec, Inc., 

Sprint Corporation, and Hamilton Relay, 

Inc. as Petitioners). As Petitioners 

explain, two-line captioned telephone 

service requires the user to have two 

standard telephone lines connected to a 

captioned telephone. See, e.g., Ultratec 

Petition at 2. The first line is set up as 

the user’s primary telephone line, and 

the second line transmits the captions 

from the captioned telephone relay 

service. When a two-line captioned 

telephone user places an outbound call, 

he or she dials the number of the party 

he or she wants to call on the first line, 

in the same way that a voice telephone 

call is made to the called party. An 

outbound call occurs when a captioned 

telephone user initiates (dials) a call 

from his or her captioned telephone 

hardware device. When this call is being 

made, the two-line captioned telephone 

simultaneously connects to the 

captioned telephone relay service on the 

second line. When this connection is 

made, the two-line captioned telephone 

takes the voice of the party who is 

called via the first line and sends it to 

the captioned telephone relay provider 

over the second line. As with one-line 

captioned telephone, the captioned 

telephone CA then re-voices everything 

that is said by the called party. Voice 

recognition technology transcribes what 

the CA says into text, and sends 

captions back on the second line to the 

text display on the two-line captioned 

telephone. In short, with one-line 

captioned telephone service the 

outbound call goes through the 

captioned telephone service provider to 

be connected to the called party; with 

two-line captioned telephone service, 

the primary telephone line links the 

calling and called parties directly, and 

the captioned telephone service is 

brought in on a second line. 

For inbound calls to the two-line 

captioned telephone user, the calling 

party simply dials the telephone 

number of the person he or she wants 

to call. An inbound call occurs when a 

captioned telephone user receives a call 

from a voice telephone caller. The call 

goes directly to the two-line captioned 

telephone in the same way a call would 

come in to any traditional telephone. 

When the captioned telephone user 

answers the call, his or her two-line 

captioned telephone automatically calls 

the captioned telephone relay service on 

the second telephone line, and the call 

then proceeds in the same manner as an 

outbound two-line captioned telephone 

call. Ultratec Petition at 3. 

Petitioners cite several benefits that 

two-line captioned telephone service 

offers that are not available with oneline captioned telephone service. First, 

because a two-line captioned telephone 

allows direct inbound dialing, no 

special ‘‘relay’’ numbers are needed and 

users can give out their own telephone 

numbers to persons who may want to 

call them, not the number of a captioned 

telephone relay service provider. 

Second, because two-line captioned 

telephone service directly connects both 

parties to the call on the same telephone 

line and adds the captioned telephone 

relay service on a second telephone line, 

it allows the user access to other 

telephone network features available to 

voice telephone users such as *69 to 

receive information about the last 

incoming call and to return such call, 

call waiting, and call forwarding. In 

addition, and for the same reason, this 

service makes it possible for users to 

directly access 9–1–1 emergency 

services in the same way that hearing 

telephone users access these services 

(while simultaneously receiving 

captions back on the second telephone 

line). Two-line captioned telephone 

service also allows two or more persons 

to be on the call at the same time e.g., 

by using another telephone extension in 

the same house because the primary 

connection is a direct voice connection, 

just like with any other call. In contrast, 

one-line captioned telephone service 

uses a single connection to carry both 

voice traffic and captioning information, 

which are encoded into a single data 

stream. This data stream would be 

unintelligible to a user who picks up a 

54296 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

separate phone connected to the line on 

which one-line captioned telephone 

service is being used. Finally, unlike 

with one-line captioned telephone 

service, the captions service can be 

added to a call at any time during the 

call even after the call is in progress by 

engaging the second line which is the 

call to the captioned telephone service. 

Jurisdictional Separation of Costs and 

Inbound Two-Line Captioned Telephone 

Service 

Petitioners and NECA acknowledge 

that although providers can readily 

determine which one-line captioned 

telephone calls are interstate and which 

are intrastate for reimbursement 

purposes, and can also make that 

determination for outbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls, they cannot 

do so for inbound two-line captioned 

telephone calls. See the National 

Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., CC 

Docket No. 98–67 and CG Docket No. 

03–123, Petition for Declaratory Ruling, 

filed December 10, 2004 (NECA 

Petition). Therefore, NECA proposes 

that we adopt an allocation 

methodology for the jurisdictional 

compensation of the inbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls; i.e., for 

determining which such calls shall be 

compensated by a state, and which such 

calls shall be compensated from the 

Interstate TRS Fund. 

As NECA explains, for one-line 

captioned telephone service the relay 

center is able to determine whether each 

call is intrastate or interstate because 

such calls go through the relay center, 

and therefore the center can determine 

where the call originates from the 

automatic number identification (ANI) 

of the caller’s telephone number and 

where it ends from the called party’s 

telephone number. NECA Petition at 1–

2; see also Ultratec Petition at 6. In other 

words, the TRS providers (i.e., call 

center) captures network information 

from both the caller’s and the called 

person’s telephone numbers. This 

applies to both inbound and outbound 

one-line captioned telephone calls. For 

outbound two-line captioned telephone 

calls, the process of determining the 

jurisdictional nature of the call is the 

same as for one-line captioned 

telephone service. NECA Petition at 2. 

The telephone captures the number of 

the called party that is dialed, and 

automatically forwards that number to 

the relay center through the second line. 

See Ultratec Petition at 6. As a result, in 

this situation the call center receives 

from the calling party the user of the 

two-line captioned telephone the 

telephone number of both the calling 

and called parties. For inbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls, however, the 

relay center is incapable of determining 

the location of the calling (i.e., 

originating) party to the call. This is 

because the originating inbound caller 

calls the captioned telephone user 

directly, and the captioned telephone 

does not receive information about the 

calling party that can be forwarded to 

the relay center when the captioned 

telephone calls the relay center on the 

second line. NECA Petition at 2; Ultratec 

Petition at 7. As a result, the relay center 

does not receive the calling party’s ANI, 

and therefore cannot determine the 

jurisdictional nature of the call in order 

to report and bill either the state or the 

Interstate TRS Fund for the call. NECA 

Petition at 2; Ultratec Petition at 7. 

Petitioners suggest that although Caller 

ID might provide the necessary 

information, ‘‘this would not offer a 

consistent solution because it is often 

blocked or unavailable,’’ and also note 

that Caller ID is a fee-based service that 

may put an unfair additional financial 

burden on the user. According to NECA, 

presently states are compensating 

providers of inbound two-line captioned 

telephone calls for all such calls. 

The problem of determining the 

jurisdictional nature of inbound twoline captioned telephone calls was 

addressed at the Interstate TRS 

Advisory Council’s (Council) April 2004 

and September 2004 meetings. NECA, 

on behalf of the Council, now requests 

that the Commission adopt an allocation 

methodology to determine the portion of 

such calls that will be considered 

intrastate, and the portion that will be 

considered interstate. NECA notes that 

an allocation methodology has been 

approved and is currently used for toll 

free (800) and pay-per-call (900) number 

calls because providers cannot 

determine the jurisdictional nature of 

such calls. In those cases, the share of 

minutes compensable from the 

Interstate TRS Fund is based on the 

relationship of interstate and 

international TRS minutes to intrastate 

toll, interstate, and international TRS 

minutes. Because this allocation is a 

means of estimating the percentage of 

800 and 900 number calls that are 

interstate, and 800 and 900 number calls 

are not local calls, only intrastate calls 

that are toll calls, and not all intrastate 

calls, are included in the denominator 

of this calculation. NECA requests that 

a similar interstate allocation factor be 

calculated and applied to all inbound 

two-line captioned telephone calls. 

However, for such calls NECA proposes 

that the allocation factor be based on the 

relationship between the number of 

interstate and international traditional 

TRS minutes to the total number of all 

traditional TRS minutes (i.e., including 

all intrastate minutes, as well as all 

interstate and international minutes). In 

other words, although NECA proposes 

that the same allocation methodology 

used for 800 and 900 calls also be used 

to determine an allocation factor for 

inbound two-line captioned telephone 

calls, the allocation factor applied 

would not be the same for 800/900 calls 

and for inbound two-line captioned 

telephone calls because the 

denominator would not be the same. 

NECA notes that based on this proposed 

allocation methodology, the allocation 

factor for the 2004–2005 Fund year 

(using the traditional TRS data projected 

for the calendar years 2004 and 2005) 

would be 10 percent. Pursuant to this 

methodology and allocation factor, 10% 

of the two-line inbound captioned 

telephone minutes would be allocated 

to the interstate jurisdiction for payment 

from the Interstate TRS Fund, while the 

remaining 90% of the two-line inbound 

captioned telephone minutes would 

continue to be billed to the intrastate 

jurisdiction. On December 16, 2004, the 

Ultratec Petition and NECA Petition 

were placed on Public Notice. Request 

for Clarification Filed by Ultratec, Inc., 

Sprint Corporation and Hamilton Relay, 

Inc. and Petition for Declaratory Ruling 

Filed by The National Exchange Carrier 

Association, Inc. Concerning Two-Line 

Captioned Telephone Voice Carry Over, 

A Form of Telecommunications Relay 

Service, CC Docket No. 98–67, CG 

Docket No. 03–12, Public Notice 

(December 16, 2004) (Two-line 

Captioned Telephone Public Notice). 

Comments were filed by the California 

Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf 

and Hard of Hearing (California 

Coalition Comments) (January 6, 2005) 

and Telecommunications for the Deaf, 

Inc. (TDI Comments) (January 7, 2005). 

Ultratec, Inc. (Ultratec) filed reply 

comments to the NECA Petition on 

January 18, 2005 (Ultratec Reply 

Comments). All commenting parties 

support both petitions. 

Discussion 

Two-line Captioned Telephone Service 

as a Type of TRS 

The Commission concludes that twoline captioned telephone service is a 

type of TRS eligible for compensation 

from the Interstate TRS Fund. As noted 

above, in the August 2003 Captioned 

Telephone Declaratory Ruling the 

Commission concluded that one-line 

captioned telephone is a type of TRS 

eligible for compensation from the 

Interstate TRS Fund. The record reflects 

that two-line captioned telephone 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 54297 

service is simply a variation of 

captioned telephone service that offers 

the same functionality while also 

offering the user additional features, 

noted above. Ultratec Petition at 2–6; 

see also California Coalition Comments 

at 1–3; TDI Comments at 1–2. These 

additional features ‘‘ including direct 

inbound dialing and the ability to use 

call waiting, call forwarding, directly 

call 911, and have two or more persons 

on the call at the same time ‘‘ represent 

another step forward toward functional 

equivalency. Therefore, the Commission 

clarifies that two-line captioned 

telephone service, like one-line 

captioned telephone service, is a type of 

TRS eligible for compensation from the 

Interstate TRS Fund. In reaching this 

conclusion, the Commission is mindful 

that Section 225 obligates the 

Commission to ensure that interstate 

and intrastate TRS are available, to the 

extent possible and in the most efficient 

manner, to hearing-impaired and 

speech-impaired individuals in the 

United States, and to ensure that the 

TRS regulations encourage the use of 

existing technology and do not 

discourage or impair the development of 

improved technology. 47 U.S.C. 225 

(b)(1); 47 U.S.C. 225 (d)(2). The 

Commission also notes that no 

commenters oppose this conclusion. 

Compensation from the Interstate TRS 

Fund 

The Commission concludes that the 

same allocation methodology presently 

used for 800 and 900 number call 

minutes should be used for inbound 

two-line captioned telephone call 

minutes. In enacting Section 225, 

Congress provided for the compensation 

of TRS providers for their costs of 

providing TRS. See 47 U.S.C. 

225(d)(1)(D). The users of TRS cannot be 

required to pay for the service; see also 

Captioned Telephone Declaratory 

Ruling. This cost recovery regime 

distinguishes between interstate and 

intrastate TRS: the providers of 

interstate TRS are compensated from the 

Interstate TRS Fund, and providers of 

intrastate TRS are compensated from the 

states. See, e.g., 47 U.S.C. 225(c) and 

(d)(3); 47 CFR 64.603, 64.604(c)(5). 

Presently the costs of providing certain 

types of intrastate TRS are compensated 

from the Interstate TRS Fund, including 

VRS and IP Relay. See Captioned 

Telephone Declaratory Ruling. As noted 

above, however, with inbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls, there is 

currently no way for the provider to 

determine the jurisdictional nature of 

the call. As a result, the provider cannot 

determine which calls should be 

reported and billed to the states, and 

which should be reported and billed to 

the Interstate TRS Fund. In these 

circumstances, NECA has proposed an 

allocation methodology by which an 

interstate allocation factor is calculated 

and applied to all inbound two-line 

captioned telephone minutes. NECA 

notes that the impact of the use of its 

allocation methodology on the fund 

would be minimal. NECA Petition at 4. 

NECA states that although captioned 

telephone minutes are growing, they are 

not a significant portion of the TRS 

provider payments (less than 1% of the 

monthly fund requirements), and that 

inbound captioned telephone minutes 

are in turn a small portion of total 

captioned telephone minutes. No party 

filed an alternate proposal or an 

opposition to NECA’s proposal. 

The Commission agrees with NECA’s 

recommendation that the same 

allocation methodology presently used 

for 800 and 900 number call minutes 

should be used for inbound two-line 

captioned telephone call minutes. 

Application of this methodology will 

ensure that the Interstate TRS Fund 

compensates providers of inbound twoline captioned telephone calls only for 

such minutes reasonably estimated to be 

interstate in nature. As a result, the 

Commission adopts NECA’s proposed 

methodology and instructs the Interstate 

TRS Fund Administrator to determine 

and apply, on an annual basis, an 

allocation factor for inbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls that is based 

on the relationship between interstate 

and international traditional TRS calls 

and all intrastate, interstate, and 

international traditional TRS calls. As 

with the determination of the allocation 

factor for 800 and 900 number calls, the 

Fund Administrator will generally use 

the providers’ projected minutes of use 

for traditional TRS. This allocation 

factor, along with the allocation factor 

for 800 and 900 number calls, shall be 

reflected in the Interstate TRS Fund 

Administrator’s annual filing with the 

Commission proposing the TRS 

compensation rates for the upcoming 

TRS Fund year. Upon release of the 

Order, NECA shall determine an 

allocation factor for inbound two-line 

captioned telephone calls as specified 

herein and submit it to the Commission. 

After Public Notice and an opportunity 

for comments, the Commission will 

issue an order approving or modifying 

the proposed factor. Finally, the 

Commission notes that Ultratec suggests 

that we monitor the usage data of oneline and two-line captioned telephone 

service to ensure that any allocation 

methodology adopted accurately reflects 

the usage of two-line captioned 

telephone service. Utratec Reply 

Comments at 4–5. The Commission will 

do so as part of its general oversight of 

the regulation and compensation of 

TRS. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Certification 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980, as amended (RFA), requires that 

an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 

be prepared for notice-and-comment 

rule making proceedings, unless the 

agency certifies that the rule will not, if 

promulgated, have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. See 5 U.S.C. 

603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601–612, has 

been amended by the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (SBREFA), Public Law Number 

104–121, Title II, 110 Statute 857 (1996). 

The RFA generally defines the term 

‘‘small entity’’ as having the same 

meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’

‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdiction.’’ 5 U.S.C. 

601(6). In addition, the term ‘‘small 

business’’ has the same meaning as the 

term ‘‘small business concern’’ under 

the Small Business Act. 5 U.S.C. 601(3) 

(incorporating by reference the 

definition of ‘‘small-business concern’’

in the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 

632). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(3), the 

statutory definition of a small business 

applies unless an agency, after 

consultation with the Office of 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration and after opportunity 

for public comment, establishes one or 

more definitions of such term which are 

appropriate to the activities of the 

agency and publishes such definition(s) 

in the Federal Register. A ‘‘small 

business concern’’ is one which: (1) Is 

independently owned and operated; (2) 

is not dominant in its field of operation; 

and (3) satisfies any additional criteria 

established by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 15 U.S.C. 632. 

Nationwide, there are approximately 1.6 

million small organizations. 

Independent Sector, the New Nonprofit 

Almanac & Desk Reference (2002). 

The Order addresses two petitions 

concerning the regulation and 

compensation of captioned telephone 

service, a form of telecommunications 

relay service (TRS). As noted in the 

Order, in August 2003, the Commission 

concluded that captioned telephone 

Voice Carry Over (VCO) service is a type 

of TRS, and that eligible providers of 

such services are eligible to recover 

their costs in accordance with Section 

225 of the Communications Act. See 

Captioned Telephone Declaratory 

Ruling. The Captioned Telephone 

54298 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

Declaratory Ruling did not address twoline captioned telephone service, and 

petitioners now seek clarification that 

this type of captioned telephone service 

is also a type of TRS eligible for 

compensation from the Interstate TRS 

Fund. 

As noted in the Order, the record 

reflects that two-line captioned 

telephone service is simply a variation 

of captioned telephone service that 

offers the same functionality while also 

offering the user additional features. 

These additional features represent 

another step forward toward functional 

equivalency. Therefore, in the Order the 

Commission clarifies that two-line 

captioned telephone service, like oneline captioned telephone service, is a 

type of TRS eligible for compensation 

from the Interstate TRS Fund. 

The Commission does not believe this 

clarification will have a significant 

economic impact; however, in the event 

that it does, the Commission also notes 

that there are not a substantial number 

of small entities that will be affected by 

our action. The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers, which 

consists of all such firms having 1,500 

or fewer employees. 13 CFR 121.201, 

NAICS code 517110 changed from 

513310 in October 2002. According to 

Census Bureau data for 1997, there were 

2,225 firms in this category which 

operated for the entire year. U.S. Census 

Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Subject 

Series: Information, ‘‘Establishment and 

Firm Size (Including Legal Form of 

Organization),’’ Table 5, NAICS code 

513310 issued October 2000. Of this 

total, 2,201 firms had employment of 

999 or fewer employees, and an 

additional 24 firms had employment of 

1,000 employees or more. Thus, under 

this size standard, the majority of firms 

can be considered small. The census 

data do not provide a more precise 

estimate of the number of firms that 

have employment of 1,500 or fewer 

employees; the largest category 

provided is ‘‘Firms with 1,000 

employees or more’’. Currently, only 

three providers are providing captioned 

telephone service and being 

compensated from the Interstate TRS 

Fund: CapTel, Inc., Hamilton and 

Sprint. The Commission expects that 

only one of the providers noted above 

may be a small entity under the SBA’s 

small business size standard. In 

addition, the Interstate Fund 

Administrator is the only entity that 

will be required to pay to eligible 

providers of two-line captioned 

telephone service the costs of providing 

interstate service. The Commission will 

send a copy of the Order, including a 

copy of this Regulatory Flexibility 

Certification, to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA. (5 U.S.C. 605(b)). 

Congressional Review Act 

The Commission will send a copy of 

the Order in a report to Congress and 

the Governmental Accountability Office 

pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act. See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

Ordering Clauses 

Pursuant to the authority contained in 

Sections 1, 2, and 225 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, and 225, 

this Order is hereby adopted. 

The Request for Clarification 

submitted by Ultratec, Inc, Sprint 

Corporation, and Hamilton Relay, Inc., 

is granted to the extent indicated herein. 

The Petition for Declaratory Ruling 

filed by the National Exchange Carrier 

Association, Inc. (NECA), on behalf of 

the Interstate Telecommunications 

Relay Service Advisory Council, is 

granted to the extend indicated herein. 

The Order shall be effective October 

14, 2005. 

The Commission’s Consumer & 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center shall send a copy of 

the Order, including the Regulatory 

Flexibility Certification, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the U.S. Small 

Business Administration. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–18029 Filed 9–13–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[CG Docket No. 03–123; DA 05–2066] 

Telecommunications Relay Services 

and Speech-to-Speech Services for 

Individuals With Hearing and Speech 

Disabilities 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; clarification. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau (the Bureau) clarifies under 

delegated authority, that 

telecommunications relay service (TRS) 

providers offering free or discount long 

distance service to TRS consumers as an 

incentive to use a particular TRS 

provider’s relay service, or as an 

incentive for a consumer to make more 

or longer TRS calls, constitutes an 

impermissible financial incentive in 

violation of the Financial Incentives 

Declaratory Ruling. TRS providers in 

violation of the Financial Incentives 

Declaratory Ruling will be ineligible for 

compensation from the Interstate TRS 

Fund. 

DATES: Effective January 12, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Chandler, Consumer & 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, (202) 

418–1475 (voice), (202) 418–0597 

(TTY), or e-mail 

Thomas.Chandler@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of Commission document DA 

05–2066, adopted July 27, 2005, 

released July 28, in CG Docket No. 03–

123. This document does not contain 

new or modified information collections 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public 

Law 104–13. In addition, 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, sec 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 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. 

They may also be purchased from the 

Commission’s duplicating contractor, 

Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), 

Portals II, 12th Street, SW., Room CY–

B402, Washington, DC 20554. 

Customers may contact BCPI at their 

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 & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice) or 

(202) 418–0432 (TTY). This document 

can also be downloaded in Word and 

Portable Document Format (PDF) at 

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb.dro. 

Synopsis 

On January 26, 2005, the Bureau, 

under delegated authority, issued the 

Financial Incentives Declaratory Ruling 

concluding that any program that offers 

any kind of financial incentive or 

reward for a consumer to place a TRS 

call, including minimum usage 

arrangements or programs (whether or 

not tied to the acceptance of 

equipment), violates section 225 of the 

Communications Act. See 

Telecommunications Relay Services and