Inmate calling services providers and advocacy organizations disagreed whether the FCC should establish rules to better facilitate refunds of inactive accounts, in comments posted Friday in docket 12-375 (see 2211140038). Some groups sought additional information from ICS providers after the third mandatory data collection, and urged better access to telecom relay services for incarcerated individuals with disabilities.

The FCC will consider an NPRM that would define digital discrimination and adopt best practices for states and local governments to combat it, during the commissioners' Dec. 21 meeting. Also on the agenda are an Enforcement Bureau action and NPRMs seeking comment on ways the FCC can facilitate acceptance of satellite and earth station applications under its Part 25 rules, on a proposal to require wireless carriers and text providers to use location-based routing to avoid misrouting wireless 911 calls and texts, and on proposed modifications to the Telecom Relay Service Fund.

The FCC will consider "specific proposals for preventing and eliminating digital discrimination" during the commissioners' Dec. 21 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday. Commissioners will also consider changes to satellite application processing rules, a proposal on wireless 911 call routing, and a proposal to modify the Telecom Relay Service Fund compensation formula.

The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Dec. 15, replies Jan. 17, on a Further NPRM on unused funds in inmate calling service accounts and telecom relay services for incarcerated individuals, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. The bureau wants comments on TRS obligations for providers and whether to adopt enterprise registration for IP captioned telephone services. It also wants comments on how to use the third mandatory data collection to establish permanent caps on ICS rates and ancillary fees. Commissioners adopted the item in September (see 2209290017).

The FCC approved a requirement that satellites in low earth orbit deorbit within five years of end of life, and the International Bureau anticipates further orbital debris rule-making action but can't say when, Deputy Chief Patrick Webre said Thursday. The 4-0 approval at the commissioners' September meeting was expected (see 2209230003). It also adopted unanimously orders updating emergency alert system rules, an NPRM removing FCC rules references to analog TV now that no analog TV services remain, and an order expanding access to telecom relay services for deaf or hard of hearing individuals. The agency said it's acting in Florida in response to Hurricane Ian (see 2209290055).

Consumer advocacy organizations and inmate calling services (ICS) providers welcomed a draft order expanding access to telecom relay services for deaf or hard of hearing individuals and an FCC Further NPRM that would seek comment on whether the commission should amend its rules for refunds (see 2209080057). Some sought to eliminate the population threshold for facilities to require compliance with the proposed rules. ICS providers raised implementation concerns. Commissioners will consider the item Thursday.

States and territories should submit their renewal applications to recertify their telecom relay service programs by Dec. 1, said an FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Monday in docket 03-123. Current certifications are to expire on July 25, the notice said, and the bureau requested applications to allow for "sufficient time to review and rule on the applications."

The Florida Public Service Commission kept a 10-cent monthly surcharge on landline bills for telecom relay services for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, the commission said Thursday. The PSC approved a $3.96 million annual budget for Florida Telecommunications Relay. The budget increased by about $208,000 from last year “to account for a recent rise in relay service expenses,” the PSC said. Revenue is down due to reduced access lines, it noted. “As in past years, reported numbers show a downward trend in relay service call volumes,” said PSC Chairman Andrew Fay.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announced Telecom Relay Service Fund per minute compensation rates Friday through June 30, said an order Thursday in docket 03-123. The per-minute rate for traditional TTY-based TRS is $4.5098; speech-to-speech relay is $5.6408; captioned telephone service is $2.3419; and IP relay is $1.9576. The bureau also extended its waiver of compensation formulas for IP CTS and video relay service until June 30 or the effective date of commission action (see 2111150057).

The FCC expanded the interstate Telecom Relay Service Fund contribution base to include intrastate and interstate end-user revenue, to ensure "fair treatment of intrastate and interstate communications services and users in the funding of relay services," said an order released Thursday in docket 03-123 (see 2206280060). The order modified contributions for video relay and IP relay services based on the "total interstate and intrastate end-user revenues of each telecommunications carrier and VoIP service provider." It denied an NTCA request to limit the contribution cost of rural providers' intrastate end-user revenue and set a compliance date of July 1, 2023. The order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. Also released Thursday was a second order amending VRS and IP captioned telephone service rules, an NPRM proposing to modify certain VRS rules, and a declaratory ruling on COVID-19 pandemic waivers. The second order gave VRS and IP CTS providers a two-week "grace period" to be compensated for "providing service to new and porting-in customers ... after initial submission of the consumer's registration data." The change will allow users to "immediately start making and receiving relay calls," the order said. The NPRM seeks comments on increasing the percentage of a VRS provider's monthly minutes a communications assistant (CA) may handle from home to 80% and reducing or eliminating the requirement that CA's have at least three years of interpreting experience. The notice also seeks comment on whether to allow VRS providers to contract interpretation services for "up to 30% of their monthly call minutes." The commission also waived its cap on the rules for one year. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 60 days for replies. The declaratory ruling clarified that the maximum period a VRS provider may be compensated for calls originating abroad by a VRS user is one year.