NASRA to FCC: Give Us More Insight Into Analog TRS Users
States can't easily do targeted outreach, support migration or identify people still relying on analog telecommunications relay services due to their lack of access to customer data, according to the National Association of State Relay Administration. In a meeting with FCC staffers, NASRA board members urged the commission to allow an exemption for TRS vendors to share customer data with state TRS administrators for outreach and transition support, said a filing posted (docket 03-123). That would help ensure device solutions for households without broadband, the group said.
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NASRA said state equipment distribution programs (EDP) could also distribute augmentative and alternative communications devices, assistive technologies, VoIP-based devices and hardware capable of automatic speech recognition. Citing a lack of national guidance about EDPs, even though many states have them, NASRA advocated for a coordinated national regulatory and service delivery framework.
TTY can't fully sunset until public safety answering point standards are updated, since DOJ requires that capability as the minimum PSAP accessibility standard, NASRA said. It added that states must no longer have TTY users whose access largely relies on legacy support to use 911.
The Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing urged the FCC to provide "nationally consistent, accessible education materials to support consumer understanding" and allow state-level flexibility so programs can tailor outreach and implementation to local demographics and communication preferences. There might need to be "temporary, targeted assistance programs" for analog TRS users with limited digital literacy or device access.
The FCC commissioners adopted a TRS modernization NPRM last week (see 2511200047).