Hamilton Relay sought a six-month extension, until June 30, of its waiver of FCC rules on how fast non-video relay service providers must answer calls, said an ex parte letter posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. Hamilton said a waiver is needed because of the "notable increase in COVID-19 case numbers over the past two weeks" and "uncertainty surrounding recently announced federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates."

The Florida Public Service Commission renewed Sprint’s contract to provide telecom relay and captioned telephone services starting in March, the PSC said Tuesday. Sprint beat Hamilton Telecom’s proposal, in response to a May 11 request for proposals, the agency said.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau conditionally granted the General Services Administration's waiver request of telecom relay services user registration requirement for IP relay service and IP captioned telephone service, said an order Friday in docket 03-123 (see 2103230049). The waiver applies to federal government employees and on-premises contractors only, and providers are required to use a “modified form” of the video relay service enterprise registration process, the order said.

Industry and advocates disagreed whether the FCC should include ancillary fees or security and surveillance costs in inmate calling services rates, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 12-375 (see 2105200044). Security and surveillance costs "are neither necessary for the provision of communication services nor do they serve [ICS] consumers or the general public," said Worth Rises. There's "no reason that the staff time of a correctional officer should be reflected in rates for phone service, and security and surveillance should not be a profit center," said the United Church of Christ, New America's Open Technology Institute, Free Press, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, National Consumer Law Center and Public Knowledge. Global Tel*Link and the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) disagreed. Facilities' costs "must include the security and surveillance costs" for providing ICS, said GTL. NSA said some security and administrative tasks are "directly related to and necessary for the provision of inmate calling services." The Prison Policy Initiative asked the FCC to prohibit revenue-sharing agreements between providers and third-party financial institutions. "We do not understand the justification for an ancillary charge in this circumstance above $3.00 and as high as $6.95" for single-call services, said NASUCA. Ensure sufficient cost recovery for facilities if site commissions are regulated, said Pay Tel. Securus backed "phasing out" site commissions from rates and "eliminating duplicative ancillary service charges." NCIC asked the FCC to consider NSA's 2015 data that suggested relying on facilities-based ICS costs rather than provider-generated proposals to develop permanent ICS rates. PPI said NSA's study "suffers from a plethora of problems." Consider how other states are adopting intrastate rates, said the California Public Utilities Commission: Those rates "are multiple times lower than the FCC's proposed interstate rate caps," and the agency should consider if its proposed caps are too high "in light of the ICS providers’ assertions that they incur little to no cost differential to provide interstate versus intrastate calling services." Commenters overwhelmingly backed efforts to expand access to telecom relay services for deaf and hard of hearing incarcerated people. Publicize "the importance of facilities and ICS providers asking individuals whether they require TRS upfront," asked Hamilton Relay. It may not be "administratively feasible" to allow incarcerated individuals to choose their IP captioned telephone service provider, said ClearCaptions. Amend TRS rules "to the maximal extent necessary" to limit barriers to access to communications services for deaf and hard of hearing incarcerated people, said a coalition that included Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Communications Services for the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America, and National Disability Rights Network. Prohibit ICS providers from charging for "all forms of TRS calls," they said.

FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called text telephone (TTY) “outdated” technology for the deaf and hearing impaired and said the agency will push the use of real-time text (RTT) on wireline networks. Rosenworcel, like past chairs, pledged to make disability issues a top focus. “The FCC is committed to meaningful stakeholder engagement, to ensure modern communications, accessibility gaps are both identified and addressed,” she told the Disability Advisory Committee Thursday. The virtual meeting was the first since February (see 1909240058).

FCC commissioners approved 4-0 an NPRM on modifying compensation methodology for IP relay service supported by the Telecom Relay Service Fund. It’s the first time in 14 years the commission is considering such new TRS methodology. The current IP relay compensation period ends June 30.

Increasing maximum potential rates for some telecom services used by the deaf and hard of hearing, as the FCC would propose, is generally backed by stakeholders. They noted in recent interviews that the proposed changes could ultimately increase some per-minute rates. They said that would ensure the service is sustainable for users who can't rely on other services. Commissioners are to vote Aug. 5 on an NPRM (see 2107150066).

Details revealed Thursday of what FCC members are to vote on Aug. 5 showed some impermissible telecom relay service-related fees would be OK, outlined how new innovation zones would work and showed how political advertising thresholds would change. Commissioners will consider modifying the compensation methodology for IP relay service providers to use “only projected costs and demand” to calculate base level compensation, said a fact sheet. The current compensation period, which follows a cost-based base level of per-minute compensation, ends June 30. The draft NPRM would rescind prohibition on outreach cost recovery because there's one IP relay provider, and would modify rules allowing recovery for indirect overhead.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announced new telecom relay service rates for FY 2021-22, said an order Wednesday in docket 03-123. Interstate rates are $4.1944 per minute for TTY-based TRS; $5.3254 for speech-to-speech relay service; $2.3662 for captioned telephone service; and $1.7146 for IP relay service. The order didn't address IP captioned telephone service and video relay service rates. The bureau approved a funding requirement of $1.3 billion based on compensation levels, projected demand and projected TRS fund administration expenses. The carrier contribution factors are 0.01331 for non-IP CTS TRS and 0.00831 for IP CTS. The bureau granted T-Mobile's request to renew its waiver to allow recovery of outreach costs and denied the provider's request for an increase in the recommended compensation level to cover indirect overhead costs. T-Mobile “has not demonstrated with particularity good cause to depart from the general rule prohibiting indirect recovery of overhead on a non-cost-causative basis,” the order said.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau granted Communication Services for the Deaf's application to access the telecom relay services numbering directory as a qualified direct video entity, said a public notice Friday.