FCC Authorizes IP Relay Reimbursement
April 2002
Editor: One of the really exciting developments in the last couple of
years has been IP Relay. This is a system that allows people to access
the relay using their computer over the internet, rather than with a
TTY. While the advantages are clear, it was never clear how to pay for
the service, and some of the companies that provide relay services have
provided IP relay at their cost.
The FCC has now announced that these providers are eligible for
reimbursement. There are still some details to work out, but I think IP
Relay is now a large step closer to becoming freely available. Here's
the announcement from the FCC.
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Providers of Internet Protocol (IP) relay service are eligible for
reimbursement from the interstate Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS)
fund, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The
decision paves the way for increased use of TRS by all Americans who
will now be only a mouse click away from this important disability
access service.
Persons using Internet-based TRS access can initiate calls on their
computers and do not have to purchase TTY (teletypewriter/text
telephone) devices.
Congress mandated the creation of TRS in the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990. All 50 states, U.S. Territories, and the
District of Columbia have implemented TRS. Intrastate TRS calls are
provided by contractors who are paid by the state. Interstate TRS calls
are provided by service providers who recover their costs from the
Interstate TRS Fund, which is financed by fees levied upon common
carriers.
Unlike traditional TRS, in which a TTY user contacts a TRS center via
telephone lines, and the communications assistant (CA) at the TRS center
calls the receiving party via voice telephone, the first leg of an IP
Relay call goes from the caller's personal computer or other Web-capable
device to the IP Relay center via the Internet. The relay site is
usually accessed via a Web-page. The second leg of the call, as with
traditional TRS, is from the CA to the receiving party via voice through
the public switched telephone network.
The Commission authorized the recovery of all IP Relay costs from the
Interstate TRS Fund and has also asked for comment on whether the FCC
should attempt to devise a method for allocating calls as intrastate or
interstate, and, if so, how to accomplish this goal.
How TRS works:
TRS provides a means for people who have hearing or speech
disabilities to communicate with people who do not have such
disabilities. Typically, a person with a speech or hearing disability
calls a TRS center using a TTY or computer keyboard and is connected
with a communications assistant (CA) who completes the call by reading
the typed message to the called party.
The CA can also accept voice calls from persons with
hard-to-understand speech and reiterate them in an easily understandable
form for the called party.
These procedures work in reverse when the person with the disability
is the called party.
Action by the Commission April 18, 2002, by Declaratory Ruling and
Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 02-121). Chairman
Powell, Commissioners Abernathy, Copps and Martin with Commissioner
Abernathy issuing a separate statement.
CC Docket No. 98-67
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau contact: Pam Gregory at (202)
418-2498 (voice) and (202) 418-1169 (TTY).
Pam Gregory, Chief
Disability Rights Office
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Room 6C415
Washington, DC 20554
voice: (202) 418-2498
TTY: (202) 418-1169
fax: (202) 418-1414
Internet: www.fcc.gov/cib/dro
