Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/08/05/2011-19795/structure-and-practices-of-the-video-relay-service-program
Timestamp: 2019-11-13 05:45:36
Document Index: 158690817

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u200964', '§\u200964', '§\u20091', '§\u200964', '§\u200964', '§\u200964']

47469-47476 (8 pages)
2011-19795
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-19795 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-19795
This is a summary of the Commission's Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program, Second Report and Order (Second Report and Order), document FCC 11-118 adopted July 28, 2011, and released July 28, 2011, in CG Docket No. 10-51, adopting modifications to its certification process for all iTRS providers. The full text of FCC 11-118 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. FCC 11-118 and copies of subsequently filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copying and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), at Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI at its Web site, http://www.bcpiweb.com, or by calling 202-488-5300. FCC 11-118 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/​cgb/​dro/​trs.html#orders.
2. Under the Commission's current rules, an iTRS provider is eligible to provide relay services and receive compensation from the Fund if it is: (1) Start Printed Page 47470Operated under contract with and/or by a certified state TRS program; (2) owned or operated under contract with an interstate common carrier; (3) an interstate common carrier offering TRS under the Commission's rules; or (4) certified by the Commission pursuant to § 64.606 of the Commission's rules.
10. IP Relay and IP CTS Providers. In the VRS Practices Report and Order, the Commission adopted requirements that VRS providers own and operate their own facilities and employ their own CAs as part of a package of rules designed to reduce fraud, establish better oversight of the VRS program, and address the unauthorized revenue sharing arrangements that have escalated in the VRS program. Though IP Relay and IP CTS providers frequently use subcontractors to operate call centers, to date there has been no public record of significant waste, fraud and abuse in those programs from the use of subcontractors as there is in the VRS program, where there have been dozens of indictments related to fraud. The Commission therefore finds that to apply these requirements to IP Relay and IP CTS providers at this time could force such providers to expend significant sums to restructure their businesses to own and operate their own facilities, and thereby result in disproportionate industry disruption as compared to regulatory benefit. Nevertheless, the Commission will monitor the provision of IP Relay and IP CTS services and revisit this issue should the need arise.Start Printed Page 47471
18. Copies of All Other Agreements Related to Provision of iTRS. In the Certification FNPRM, the Commission proposed to require applicants for certification to submit copies of “all other agreements” associated with the provision of iTRS. Although the Commission declines to adopt a requirement that applicants submit copies of all other such agreements that are not included in any of the above categories, the Commission may seek additional relevant information from individual applicants that the Commission deems to be directly relevant to the applicant's ability to Start Printed Page 47472comply with the Commission's rules, on an as-needed basis.
25. The Commission takes this opportunity to reiterate that if a Commission-certified provider purchases, acquires, or merges with another iTRS provider, such transaction constitutes a substantive change under § 64.606(f)(2) of the Commission's rules, and therefore requires notice to the Commission within 60 days of its consummation. The Commission further notes that a Commission certification is not transferable to an entity not already certified by the Commission as eligible for compensation from the Fund.
27. The Commission will adopt its proposal to require Commission approval in advance of planned service outages by VRS providers and to require notification to consumers in advance of such outages. Because Commission requirements that service be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Start Printed Page 47473currently apply to VRS but not to IP Relay and IP CTS, the Commission adopts these requirements for VRS and not for the other iTRS services. As proposed in the Certification FNPRM, applications for temporary cessation of service must be filed at least 60 days in advance of such planned outage, and the Commission will act on any such application at least 35 days in advance of the planned service interruption date to afford providers a sufficient opportunity to notify consumers.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), requires that a regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that “the rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” The RFA generally defines “small entity” as having the same meaning as the terms “small business,” “small organization,” and “small governmental jurisdiction.” See 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. 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). Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632.
The Commission has assessed the effects of imposing various requirements on iTRS providers to obtain certification from the Commission in order to be eligible for compensation from the TRS Fund. The Commission has determined that any additional data filing requirements imposed by document FCC 11-118 on iTRS providers are reasonable and necessary in order to ensure compliance with the Commission's rules, particularly in light of the widespread fraud currently being investigated in the VRS industry. VRS is a form of iTRS. The Commission has taken steps to address the concerns of commenters stating that some of the Commission's proposed rules were overly burdensome. For example, the Commission initially proposed to require that a provider file a deed or Start Printed Page 47474lease for every service center operated. The Commission has modified this requirement in its final rule to allow for providers with more than five centers to submit a representative sampling of deeds and leases. In addition, the Commission has declined to adopt its proposed requirement for providers to submit documentation of all financing arrangements pertaining to the provision of iTRS. The Commission has also declined to adopt the proposed requirement that providers submit copies of all subcontracting agreements for services not directly essential for the provision of iTRS. The Commission concludes that it has taken steps to further reduce the burdens on affected entities to apply for certification to receive compensation from the TRS Fund for the provision of iTRS services, and that the remaining filing requirements are not overly economically burdensome.
Pursuant to § 1.427(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.427(a), document FCC 11-118 and the rules adopted herein shall be effective September 6, 2011, except 47 CFR 64.606(a)(2), (g), (h)(2), and (h)(3) of the Commission's rules, which require approval by OMB under the PRA and which shall become effective after the Commission publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing such approval and the relevant effective date.
2. Section 64.604 is amended by adding new paragraph (b)(4)(iv) and by revising paragraph (c)(5)(iii)(F) to read as follows:
3. Section 64.606 is amended by revising the section heading and paragraph (a)(2), by adding new paragraph (a)(3), by revising paragraphs (b)(2), (c)(2), (e)(2), (f)(2) and (g), and by adding new paragraph (h) to read as follows:
(ii) A detailed description of how the applicant will meet all non-waived mandatory minimum standards applicable to each form of TRS offered, Start Printed Page 47475including documentary and other evidence, and in the case of VRS, such documentary and other evidence shall demonstrate that the applicant leases, licenses or has acquired its own facilities and operates such facilities associated with TRS call centers and employs communications assistants, on a full or part-time basis, to staff such call centers at the date of the application. Such evidence shall include, but not be limited to:
(2) Operating more than five call centers within the United States, a copy of each deed or lease for a representative sampling (taking into account size (by number of communications assistants) and location) of five call centers operated by the applicant within the United States, together with a list of all other call centers that they operate that includes the information required under § 64.604(c)(5)(iii)(N)(2);
(ii) Establishes that the Internet-based TRS provider makes available adequate procedures and remedies for ensuring compliance with the requirements of this section and the mandatory minimum standards contained in § 64.604, including that it makes available for TRS users informational materials on complaint procedures sufficient for users to know the proper procedures for filing complaints.
(g) Internet-based TRS providers certified under this section shall file with the Commission, on an annual basis, a report demonstrating that they are in compliance with § 64.604. Such reports must update the information required in paragraph (a)(2) of this section and include updated documentation and a summary of the updates, or certify that there are no changes to the information and documentation submitted with the application for certification, application for renewal of certification, or the most recent annual report, as applicable.
(h) Unauthorized service interruptions. (1) Each certified VRS provider must provide Internet-based TRS without unauthorized voluntary service interruptions.Start Printed Page 47476