To: Consumer Contact List
From: Karen Peltz Strauss
Re: Consumer Contact List: VRS and Internet relay emergency access; due dates for comments on captioned telephone
Date: November 30, 2005

1. VRS and Internet Relay Emergency Access - The FCC has released a notice of proposed rulemaking on the handling of emergency calls by Internet relay and VRS providers. Specifically, the Commission has asked for comment on how providers who receive these calls can determine the appropriate PSAP. The FCC has suggested various alternatives, including user registration (along the same lines as the FCC's directive to interconnected VoIP providers), the use of a PSAP database, and/or the use of priority access to emergency calls (i.e., re-ordering emergency calls to the top of the VRS queue). Links to the NPRM are below. Comment dates will be set after this is published in the Federal Register.

TRS AND SPEECH-TO-SPEECH SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH HEARING AND SPEECH DISABILITIES/ACCESS TO EMERGENCY SERVICES. Addressed the issue of access to emergency services for Internet-based forms of Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS), namely Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol (IP) Relay. (Dkt No. 03-123). Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 11/18/2005 by NPRM. (FCC No. 05-196). CGB
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-196A1.doc>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-196A1.pdf>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-196A1.txt>

2. Due Dates for Comments on Captioned Telephone Petition - The FCC has now published in the Federal Register the petition filed by Self Help for Hard of Hearing People and 12 other organizations to make captioned telephone relay service mandatory and to approve IP captioned telephone as a relay service. Comments are due on December 30 and reply comments are due on January 17.