Comments are due at the FCC by Feb. 4 on whether a new Deaf Blind Relay Service can be considered a type of Telecom Relay Service and thus be eligible for compensation under the Interstate TRS Fund. Hawk Relay asked for the clarification, saying its proposed DBRS would use an interpreter who would sit with the deaf/blind user, place or receive conventional voice-to-voice calls and interpret the resulting conversations for the user. Replies are due Feb. 19.

The FCC is expected to act soon on an order requiring 911 capability on video relay and IP relay services used by people with disabilities, industry and consumer sources said Tuesday. The item ran Monday on the FCC “circulation list,” meaning FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has sent a draft to other commissioners’ offices for a vote. The FCC is expected to require providers to accept 911 calls, arrange expedited handling and use a database, such as one provided by Intrado, to pass the call to the nearest Public Service Answering Point. Prioritizing calls matters especially with VRS, which takes longer to set up than other TRS services. The agency isn’t expected to require use of automatic number identification at the start. All telecommunications relay services long have been required to handle 911 calls, a requirement waived for video and IP relay services because providers weren’t immediately able to offer 911 capability. The waiver expires Dec. 31, demanding action soon, said a consumer representative. Most VRS and IP relay providers “have figured out ways to deal with 911,” but VRS providers face more challenges, said an industry source. Since video relay doesn’t use phone numbers, no ANI can be generated, and a translator is in the middle of the call, the industry official said. Industry and consumer representatives voiced frustration that the order didn’t appear until a month before the waiver expires. They expect the FCC to offer some leeway, perhaps issuing an order spelling out new requirements but giving providers more time to adopt them. The FCC has been talking about the order since at least June, an industry source said. “I don’t see how providers can do this overnight,” a consumer consultant said.

The FCC adopted new ways to compensate providers of telecommunications relay services that commissioners called fair, simple and more “predictable” than the current system. The FCC adopted a rate plan by TRS provider Hamilton Relay for some relay services. It adopted one based on price caps for IP relay and for Video Relay Service it adopted a “tiered” compensation system in which rates fall based on call volume. VRS provider Sorenson Communications said it likes the system’s predictability. “The stable and predictable multi-year rate established by the FCC will allow Sorenson Communications to make the necessary longer-term investments to increase access to VRS for more deaf individuals, train new interpreters and [improve] VRS technology,” said Sorenson President Pat Nola. The compensation rate isn’t a price charged to users but determines what providers get from the TRS Fund, the FCC order said. FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein praised part of the order that provides compensation for “outreach” to alert disabled people to new services like speech-to-speech. “The message was clear from providers and consumers alike that the Commission needed to improve its administration of the Fund and to increase awareness of these critical services,” Adelstein said.

Verizon will spin off its Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) division to GoAmerica for $50 million cash and up to an additional $8 million in contingent cash consideration, GoAmerica said Thursday. The move is part of Verizon’s plan to “focus on core broadband and IP services,” a Verizon spokesman said. The deal is expected to close in 120 to 180 days, subject to approval by public utility commissions in California, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, he said. The deal is not subject to a separate financing contingency, GoAmerica said. GoAmerica and Verizon also entered into a transition service agreement under which Verizon will provide support services to GoAmerica during the integration period after closing. Stellar Nordia, a GoAmerica call center contractor, will assume facilities, employee and operational responsibilities for the Verizon’s two primary TRS call centers. Clearlake Capital Group will fund the transaction with $35 million committed equity and $30 million of committed senior debt. In return, Clearlake gets a third seat on the GoAmerica board. Clearlake will also commit an additional $55 million for “investments, acquisitions or combinations” if requested by GoAmerica’s board and approved by Clearlake by Sept. 14. TRS, created by Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act, enables speech or hearing impaired individuals to communicate over the phone with a person without such a disability through a communications assistant at a relay center. Verizon’s TRS division includes nationwide IP-based text and video relay services, and contracts to provide text-telephone relay services in California, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. The unit generated $67 million in 2006 revenue, Verizon said.

Verizon will spin off its Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) division to GoAmerica for $50 million cash and up to an additional $8 million in contingent cash consideration, GoAmerica said Thursday. The move is part of Verizon’s plan to “focus on core broadband and IP services,” a Verizon spokesman said. The deal is expected to close in 120 to 180 days, subject to approval by public utility commissions in California, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, he said. The deal is not subject to a separate financing contingency, GoAmerica said.

The FCC froze rates for various forms of telecommunications relay service until it finishes studying options for recovering the programs’ costs. The action covers traditional TRS, speech-to-speech service, interstate captioned telephone service, IP relay and video relay service. The FCC didn’t comment on rates the National Exchange Carrier Association wants, saying it decided to keep the current rates “pending resolution of the cost recovery methodology issues” cited in the pending further notice of proposed rulemaking. Sorenson Communications, a provider of video relay services, said the FCC rightly opted for “stability and predictability.”

The FCC froze rates for various forms of telecommunications relay service until it finishes studying options for recovering the programs’ costs. The action covers traditional TRS, speech-to-speech service, interstate captioned telephone service, IP relay and video relay service. The FCC didn’t comment on rates the National Exchange Carrier Association proposed, saying it decided to keep the current rates “pending resolution of the cost recovery methodology issues” to be addressed in the pending further notice of proposed rulemaking. Sorenson Communications, a provider of video relay services, said the FCC rightly opted for “stability and predictability.”

Pay-TV and phone providers will get access to one another’s wiring in apartment buildings under an FCC order commissioners said will boost competition in both industries. An order stipulating when Bells must provide access to phone wires in multiple dwelling units (MDUs) to CLECs including cable operators, and when telcos can tap into cable wiring, was approved 5-0 at Thurs.’s agenda meeting. The order, in addressing 2 separate issues, offered cable operators a win, since Cox Communications’ complaint was upheld, while Bells get easier access to cable lines under Sheetrock in apartment walls.

Chmn. Martin plans to ask for a vote on revamped E-911 location rules at the May 31 agenda meeting. Martin also will seek a vote on a Katrina report and order, which grows out of a June 2006 notice of proposed rulemaking. Also on the public safety front, sources said, notices of apparent liability against Sprint-Nextel, Alltel and U.S. Cellular for violating location capable handset rules are on circulation. Each notice proposes fines in excess of $1 million for violation of a mandate that 95% of their subscribers have location-capable handsets by Dec. 31, 2005 (CD Jan 8 p1).

The FCC seeks comments on NECA’s proposed new rates for compensating telecom relay services providers for the year starting July 1. The rates ultimately determine the Telecom Relay Service Fund’s size and what carriers must pay into it. NECA this year gave the FCC a range of per-min. rates for each TRS service, such as video relay service, IP relay, speech-to-speech and others. NECA’s decision not to recommend specific rates adds “more uncertainty and complexity to the process,” said Sorenson Communications in a statement. Only a fraction of deaf people have access to VRS, Sorenson, which sells VRS services and equipment, said: “This annual struggle over the rate, and the uncertainty it brings, makes it impossible to invest in and plan how to offer the best quality VRS service to as many deaf people as possible.” Comments by May 16, replies by May 23.