2020-02145. IP CTS Modernization and Reform; IP CTS Improvements and Program Management

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of effective and compliance dates.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with rules adopted in the Commission's documents Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service et. al, Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, FCC 18-79 and Report and Order, FCC 19-11, (Orders) and that the compliance with the modified rules associated in FCC 19-11 is now required. This document is consistent with the Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective and compliance dates of those rules.

DATES:

Effective date: The amendments to § 64.604(c)(11)(v) and (c)(13)(iii) and (iv), published at 83 FR 30082, June 27, 2018, are effective February 19, 2020.

Compliance date: Compliance with §§ 64.611(j)(2), 64.615(a)(3) and (a)(5), published at 84 FR 8457, March 8, 2019, is required as of February 19, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Scott, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at [phone], or email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that, on December 26, 2019, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements contained in the Commission's Orders, FCC 18-79, published at 83 FR 30082, June 27, 2018 and FCC 19-11, published at 84 FR 8457, March 8, 2019. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1053. The Commission publishes this notice as an announcement of the effective and compliance dates of the rules. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Please include the OMB Control Number, 3060-1053, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via the internet if you send them to [e-mail].

To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to [e-mail] or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at [phone] (voice) or [phone] (TTY).

This document also removes §§ 64.611(k) and 64.615(c) of the Commission's rules, which advised that compliance with §§ 64.611(j)(2) and 64.615(a)(3) and (a)(5), respectively, was not required until OMB approval was obtained.

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on December 26, 2019, for the information collection requirements contained in the Commission's rules at §§ 64.604(c)(11)(v), 64.604(c)(13)(iii)-(iv), 64.611(j)(2), 64.615(a)(3) and (a)(5).

Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.

No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number is 3060-1053.

The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.

The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1053.

OMB Approval Date: December 26, 2019.

OMB Expiration Date: December 31, 2022.

Title: Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 372,010 respondents; 1,218,242 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.1 hours (6 minutes) to 40 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual, every five years, monthly, and ongoing reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirements; Third party disclosure requirements.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for the information collection requirements is found at Sec. 225 [47 U.S.C. 225] Telecommunications Services for Hearing-Impaired Individuals; The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA), Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, enacted on July 26, 1990.

Total Annual Burden: 653,820 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $56,000.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue to the extent that individuals and households provide personally identifiable information, which is covered under the FCC's updated system of records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-4, “Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service-User Registration Database (ITRS-URD).” As required by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Commission also published a SORN, FCC/CGB-4 “Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service-User Registration Database (ITRS-URD),” in the Federal Register on February 9, 2015 (80 FR 6963) which became effective on March 23, 2015.

Privacy Impact Assessment: The FCC completed a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) on June 28, 2007. It may be reviewed at https://www.fcc.gov/​general/​privacy-act-information#pia. The Commission is in the process of updating the PIA to incorporate various revisions to it as a result of revisions to the SORN.

Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2003, the Commission released Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67, Declaratory Ruling, 68 FR 55898, September 28, 2003, clarifying that one-line captioned telephone voice carry over (VCO) service is a type of telecommunications relay service (TRS) and that eligible providers of such services are eligible to recover their costs from the Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) in accordance with section 225 of the Communications Act.

On July 19, 2005, the Commission released Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 03-123, Order, 70 FR 54294, September 14, 2005, clarifying that two-line captioned telephone VCO service, like one-line captioned telephone VCO service, is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund.

On January 11, 2007, the Commission released Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory Ruling, 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007, granting a request for clarification that Internet Protocol (IP) captioned telephone relay service (IP CTS) is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund.

On August 26, 2013, the Commission issued Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, 78 FR 53684, August 30, 2013, to regulate practices relating to the marketing of IP CTS, impose certain requirements for the provision of this service, and mandate registration and certification of IP CTS users.

On June 8, 2018, the Commission issued Misuse of internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, 83 FR 30082, June 27, 2018 (2018 IP CTS Modernization Order), to facilitate the Commission's efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse and improve its ability to efficiently manage the IP CTS program through regulating practices related to the marketing of IP CTS, generally prohibiting the provision of IP CTS to consumers who do not genuinely need the service, permitting the provision of IP CTS in emergency shelters, and approving the use of automatic speech recognition to generate captions without the assistance of a communications assistant.

On February 15, 2019, the Commission issued Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, and Order, 84 FR 8457, March 8, 2019 (2019 IP CTS Program Management Order), requiring the submission of IP CTS user registration information to the telecommunications relay service (TRS) User Registration Database (Database) so that the Database administrator can verify IP CTS users to reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse in the IP CTS program.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.