{"id":10987,"date":"2010-06-28T23:06:11","date_gmt":"2010-06-29T04:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=10987"},"modified":"2010-06-28T23:44:31","modified_gmt":"2010-06-29T04:44:31","slug":"fcc-takes-action-to-protect-and-sustain-vital-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/06\/28\/fcc-takes-action-to-protect-and-sustain-vital-service\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC Takes Action to Protect and Sustain Vital Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

FCC Takes Action to Protect and Sustain Vital Service for the Deaf<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commission Votes Unanimously on Immediate and Long-Term Approaches<\/p>\n

Press release from the Federal Communications Commission, 6\/28\/10<\/p>\n

Washington, DC — The Federal Communications Commission has taken two
\nactions to protect and ensure the sustainability of a vital service for
\npersons with hearing or speech disabilities. This service, called Video
\nRelay Service (VRS), allows persons with these disabilities to use American
\nSign Language (ASL) to communicate with friends and family and to conduct
\nbusiness in near real time. The Commission’s two unanimous votes – one to
\nbegin a fresh look at the VRS program, and another that sets out how VRS
\ncompanies will be compensated during the next year while the review is
\nunderway – will protect a program that has developed through two decades of
\nwork initiated by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, the ADA established a fund, under the FCC’s oversight, to
\nensure that persons with hearing or speech disabilities could use special
\ntelephone services at costs comparable to those that hearing people pay for
\nregular telephone service. Today, the VRS service supported by that fund
\nhas become an essential part of the lives of people who have hearing or
\nspeech disabilities.<\/p>\n

Recently, the fund that supports VRS has been threatened on two fronts. A
\nnumber of individuals associated with VRS companies have been indicted for
\nfraud and abuse of the system; they appear to have generated extra revenue
\nfrom calls that were not legitimate uses of the fund. In addition, recent
\ndata has shown that the payments from the Fund to VRS companies were on a
\nhigher scale than the FCC intended, because they were based on cost
\nestimates that turned out to be far higher than VRS companies’ actual
\ncosts.<\/p>\n

The Commission has now set interim levels for payments to VRS companies for
\nthe year July 2010 through June 2011. The FCC estimates that these new
\ncompensation levels, together with steps that have been taken to reduce
\nfraud, will save the fund about $275 million over last year’s estimated
\ncosts. The FCC has worked with the Department of Justice to identify
\ncompanies that may have acted fraudulently, and the number of questionable
\ncharges has already dropped as a result. The savings from reduced fraud and
\nnew payment levels will benefit American ratepayers, who support the fund
\nthrough charges on their telephone bills.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Commission has released a Notice of Inquiry asking
\nfundamental questions about the ways that the market for VRS should be
\nstructured and how companies that provide VRS should be compensated.
\nTogether, the Commission’s two actions today help put the future of VRS on a
\nsolid and sustainable course.<\/p>\n

“Video relay service has greatly improved life for people who are deaf or
\nhard of hearing and their friends and families,” said Joel Gurin, Chief of
\nthe Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the FCC, which oversees
\naccess to communications services for persons with disabilities. “The
\nCommission’s actions will help ensure the continuity of this essential
\nservice while also ensuring that ratepayers are not overcharged. The Notice
\nof Inquiry will begin an in-depth process to review the entire structure of
\nthe VRS program and ensure its long-term viability.”<\/p>\n

The Commission expects to complete the Notice of Inquiry proceeding before
\nFund year 2011-12, which begins on July 1, 2011. The Commission also
\nadopted compensation rates for July 2010 through June 2011 for all other
\nforms of TRS paid from the fund.<\/p>\n

Action by the Commission June 28, 2010, by Notice of Inquiry (FCC 10-111 )
\nand Order (FCC 10-115).<\/p>\n

CG Docket 10-51
\nCGB Contact: Mike Jacobs at (202) 418-2859.<\/p>\n

FOR MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n

(Adapted from the FCC Daily Digest)
\nThe Commission hereby adopts per-minute compensation rates from the
\nInterstate Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund (Fund) for each form
\nof TRS for the 2010-2011 Fund year. These rates are based in part on options
\nproposed by the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), the Interstate
\nTRS Fund administrator, in filing its annual Interstate Telecommunications
\nRelay Services Fund Payment Formula and Fund Size Estimate for the period of
\nJuly 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. The one-year interim rates for
\n2010-2011 shall be:<\/p>\n

$6.2390 for VRS Tier I
\n$6.2335 for VRS Tier II
\n$5.0668 for VRS Tier III.
\n$2.256 for interstate traditional TRS
\n$3.1566 for Speech-to-Speech (STS)
\n$1.6951 for Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) and Internet Protocol (IP) CTS
\n$1.2985 for IP Relay<\/p>\n

STRUCTURE AND PRACTICES OF THE VIDEO RELAY SERVICE PROGRAM. Initiated
\nproceeding to review the Commission’s video relay service (VRS) rules so
\nthat we can ensure that this vital program is effective, efficient, and
\nsustainable in the future. (Dkt No. 10-51 ). Action by: the Commission.
\nAdopted: 06\/08\/2010 by NOI. (FCC No. 10-111). CGB.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-111A1.doc<\/a>
\n http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-111A1.pdf<\/a>
\n http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-111A1.txt<\/a><\/p>\n

TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES AND SPEECH-TO-SPEECH SERVICES FOR
\nINDIVIDUALS WITH HEARING AND SPEECH DISABILITIES. Adopted per-minute
\ncompensation rates from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services
\n(TRS) Fund for each form of TRS for the 2010-2011 Fund year. (Dkt No.
\n03-123 ). Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 06\/18\/2010 by ORDER. (FCC
\nNo. 10-115). CGB.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-115A1.doc<\/a>
\n http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-115A1.pdf<\/a>
\n http:\/\/hraunfoss.fcc.gov\/edocs_public\/attachmatch\/FCC-10-115A1.txt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FCC Takes Action to Protect and Sustain Vital Service for the Deaf Commission Votes Unanimously on Immediate and Long-Term Approaches Press release from the Federal Communications Commission, 6\/28\/10 Washington, DC — The Federal Communications Commission has taken two actions to…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[114,5368,5369,564,342,5373,2019,5372,5371,278,4729,808,5365,3132,5367,5366,4733,5370,650,61,5374],"class_list":["post-10987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ada","tag-captioned-telephone-service","tag-cts","tag-department-of-justice","tag-fcc","tag-fcc-daily-digest","tag-federal-communications-commission","tag-fund-size-estimate","tag-interstate-telecommunications-relay-services-fund-payment-formula","tag-ip-relay","tag-joel-gurin","tag-neca","tag-rate","tag-speech-disabilities","tag-speech-to-speech-service","tag-telecommunications-relay-services","tag-tier","tag-traditional-phone","tag-video-relay-service","tag-vrs","tag-vrs-vendors"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2Rd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10483,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/05\/11\/fcc-public-notice-on-new-vrs-rates-nad-to-file-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":0},"title":"FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"NAD E-NEWS FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments To view two-part vlog by NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins, visit http:\/\/www.nad.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/civicrm\/extern\/url.php?u=294&qid=783468 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently received video relay service (VRS) rates for July 2010 to June 2011 from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20691,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/11\/12\/save-my-vrs-take-action-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":1},"title":"Save My VRS – Take Action Now","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Save My VRS - Take Action Now Click and watch videe at: http:\/\/www.savemyvrs.com\/ The FCC is proposing harmful changes to VRS. Become informed and let the FCC know your concerns by clicking here. http:\/\/www.savemyvrs.com\/takeaction WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Video Relay Service (VRS) empowers deaf or hard-of-hearing Americans who use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1641,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/05\/15\/fcc-staff-has-threatened-drastic-cuts-in-vrs\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":2},"title":"FCC Staff has Threatened Drastic Cuts in VRS","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Staff has Threatened Drastic Cuts in VRS If the drastic cutbacks suggested by the FCC staff are adopted, fewer deaf people will have access to VRS. To learn more about the issues: * Watch the ASL videos below * ACT NOW! Send your comments to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10533,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/05\/12\/fcc-threatens-future-of-video-relay-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":3},"title":"FCC Threatens Future of Video Relay Service","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC Threatens Future of Video Relay Service! May 11, 2010 - Sorenson Response to FCC Statement of May 10, 2010 Click here to read Sorenson Communication's response to the FCC's May 10th Statement. http:\/\/www.sorensonvrs.com\/fcc_response May 7, 2010 - VRS THREATENED BY FCC PROPOSAL Imagine a future without Sorenson VRS (SVRS)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20871,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/11\/28\/tdi-and-consumer-groups-respond-to-fccs-nprm-on-vrs-reform\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":4},"title":"TDI and Consumer Groups Respond to FCC’s NPRM on VRS Reform","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"TDI eNote: TDI and Consumer Groups Respond to FCC's NPRM on VRS Reform Thanks to TDI's pro-bono attorneys at Bingham McCutchen, TDI and its sister consumer groups such as AGBell, ALDA, CCASDHH, CPADO, DHHCAN, DSA, NAD, and NBDA and were able to articulate the perspective of end-users who rely on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9136,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/02\/01\/fcc-actions-block-consumer-vrs-calls\/","url_meta":{"origin":10987,"position":5},"title":"FCC Actions Block Consumer VRS Calls","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC Actions Block Consumer VRS Calls The NAD learned that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not paid Video Relay Service (VRS) providers for certain types of VRS calls since July 2009. \u00a0As a result, some VRS providers are not connecting or may stop connecting some VRS calls. \u00a0This is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10988,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions\/10988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}