Sorenson Seeks More Time for VRS Provider Trial Decisions/Actions Due to Rate Issues
Sorenson Communications asked the FCC to extend deadlines for providers of video relay services to decide whether to participate in, and start, trials using specialized interpreters ("skills-based routing") and deaf interpreters which were authorized in March (see 1703230055). The largest…
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VRS provider said it strongly backs the trials, but said more time is needed due to uncertainty over proposals to change compensation rates on July 1 (see 1704250057 and 1705050012). The date for providers to declare their intent to participate should be extended from June 1 to 60 days after the FCC adopts new rates, and the start date of the eight-month trial periods should be extended from Aug. 1 to 180 days after the adoption of such rates, said a Sorenson filing posted Friday in docket 10-51. Sorenson separately explained its proposals for raising the per-minute Tier III compensation rate (more than 2.5 million monthly minutes of calling under an FCC proposal) from $3.49 to $4.19, "including the cost of necessary end-user equipment," or for establishing a unified VRS rate of $3.79. The rates are justified due to increasing interpreter wage and benefit costs, affiliate intellectual property costs and the need for a "commercially reasonable operating margin," said the company's filing Thursday on a meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. The other VRS providers urged the FCC to keep the tiered structure and to lower the Tier III rate to $2.83 per minute while raising the rates for lower-traffic tiers to account for cost differences. A filing by ZVRS, the second-largest provider, contained sensitive cost data (redacted) to "correct errors" generated by telecom relay service fund administrator Rolka Loube, support the small provider proposals and show that Sorenson claims about ZVRS overcompensation are "unfounded." A filing in docket 03-123 by Sorenson and subsidiary CaptionCall of a call with the Pai aide said they discussed a pending NPRM on IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS), and expressed appreciation the agency "will address any changes to the IP CTS rate methodology in the context of that proceeding, rather than in the abbreviated time" for commenting on Rolka Loube TRS fund estimate (see 1705030034 and 1705110023).