Illinois Administrative Code › Title 83 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part 756 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES › Subpart C - RELAY SERVICE PROGRAM STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS › Section 756.205 - Relay Service Operations and Specifications

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) TRS as described in Section
				756.100(a)
				shall operate at all times for all Illinois exchanges. Relay services that are not
				mandated as described in Section
				756.100(b)
				by the FCC need not be provided at all times.
b) TRS shall have redundancy features functionally
				equivalent to the equipment in normal central offices, including uninterruptible
				power for emergency use.
c) TRS shall be
				designed to handle on a statewide basis the current calling volume, with
				capabilities to alter the facilities to handle the projected volume of
				calls.
d) At a minimum, TRS shall be
				accessed by callers via the 7-1-1 dialing code and a toll-free telephone number. The
				same toll-free telephone number shall be available to the Illinois relay system
				regardless of the relay system provider. Callers shall be required to dial (enter)
				no more than 11 digits in order to access the relay system.
e) TRS shall have a system for incoming emergency
				calls that, at a minimum, automatically and immediately transfers the caller to an
				appropriate PSAP. An appropriate PSAP is the designated PSAP to which a direct call
				from the particular number would be delivered. In addition, a CA must pass along the
				caller's telephone number to the PSAP when a caller disconnects before being
				connected to emergency services.
f) TRS
				users shall have access to their chosen interexchange carrier through the TRS and to
				all other operator services, to the same extent that access is provided to standard
				telephone users.
g) TRS shall transmit
				conversations between TTY and voice callers in real time. The relay service shall
				accept calls that can be dialed directly by a CA at the request of the originating
				caller. Specifically, the CA shall accept and complete TRS calls with the ability to
				transliterate text messages to voice and voice messages to text.
h) TRS shall ensure adequate TRS facility staffing
				to provide callers with efficient access under projected calling volumes, so that
				the probability of a busy response due to CA unavailability shall be functionally
				equivalent to what a voice caller would experience, as defined in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
				Part
				730.520, in
				attempting to reach a party through the voice telephone network.
i) TRS facilities shall, except during network
				failure, answer 85% of all calls within 10 seconds by any method that results in the
				caller's call immediately being placed, not put in a queue or on hold. The 10
				seconds begins at the time the call is delivered to the TRS facility's network. The
				call is considered delivered when the TRS facility's equipment accepts the call from
				the local telecommunications carrier and the public switched network actually
				delivers the call to the TRS center. Abandoned calls shall be included in the
				speed-of-answer calculation. A TRS provider's compliance with this subsection shall
				be measured on a daily basis. The system shall be designed to a P.01 standard. A
				telecommunications carrier shall provide the call attempt rates and the rates of
				calls blocked between the telecommunications carrier and the TRS facility to relay
				administrators and the TRS providers upon request.
j) Consistent with the obligations of
				telecommunications carrier operators, CAs are prohibited from refusing single or
				sequential calls or limiting the length of calls utilizing relay services.
k) TRS shall be capable of handling any type of
				call normally provided by carriers unless the FCC determines that it is not
				technologically feasible to do so. Relay service providers have the burden of
				proving the infeasibility of handling any type of call.
l) CAs must alert the TRS user to the presence of
				a recorded message and interactive menu through a hot key on the CA's terminal. The
				hot key will send text from the CA to the consumer's TTY indicating that a recording
				or interactive menu has been encountered. Relay providers shall electronically
				capture recorded messages and retain them for the length of the call. Relay
				providers may not impose any charges for additional calls, which must be made by the
				relay user in order to complete calls involving recorded or interactive
				messages.
m) TRS shall be capable of
				handling pay-per-call calls.
n) The
				system provider shall be permitted to decline to complete a call because credit
				authorization is denied.
o) A TRS
				facility shall ensure that adequate network facilities shall be used in conjunction
				with TRS so that, under projected calling volume, the probability of a busy response
				due to loop trunk congestion shall be functionally equivalent to what a voice caller
				would experience, as defined in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 730.520, in attempting to reach a
				party through the voice telephone network.
p) TRS facilities are permitted to use SS7
				technology or any other type of similar technology to enhance the functional
				equivalency and quality of TRS. TRS facilities that utilize SS7 technology are
				independently subject to the Calling Party Telephone Number rules set forth at
				47 CFR
				64.1600 to
				64.1604.
q) When a TRS facility is able to transmit any
				calling party identifying information to the public network, the TRS facility must
				pass through, to the called party, at least one of the following: the number of the
				TRS facility, 7-1-1, or the 10-digit number of the calling party.