[Federal Register: November 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 61882-61883]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01no07-56]
[[Page 61882]]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC
Docket No. 92-105; DA 07-4178]
IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2)
of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The Telecommunications
Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications
Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons With Disabilities;
Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; The Use of N11 Codes
and Other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks comment on petitions
filed by the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition, the United States
Telecom Association (USTelecom), and Hamilton Telephone Company
(Hamilton) seeking a stay or waiver of certain aspects of the
Commission's Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Telecommunications
Relay Services (TRS) Order (VoIP TRS Order). In particular, the
Commission seeks comment on technical solutions to the ability of
interconnected VoIP providers to route all 711 calls to an appropriate
relay center and to the ability of a relay center to identify the
appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP) to call when receiving
an emergency call via 711 abbreviated TRS dialing access and an
interconnected VoIP service. The Commission expects that interested
parties will work together to achieve technical solutions that will
enable emergency 711 calls placed through interconnected VoIP providers
to be handled in accordance with the Commission's emergency call
handling procedures.
DATES: Comments are due on or before December 3, 2007. Reply comments
are due on or before December 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments and reply comments
identified by [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No.
96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105], by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting electronic filings.
Federal Communications Commission's Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS): http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the
instructions for submitting electronic filings.
By filing paper copies.
For electronic filers through ECFS or the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, because multiple docket numbers appear in the
caption of this proceeding, filers must transmit one electronic copy of
the comments to each docket number referenced in the caption. In
completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full
name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket
numbers, which in this instance are [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No.
03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105]. Parties may
also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing
instructions, filers should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include
the following words in the body of the message, ``get form < your e-mail
address>.'' A sample form and directions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and four copies of each filing. Because more than one
docket number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must
submit two additional copies for each additional docket number. Filings
can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight
courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail
(although the Commission continues to experience delays in receiving
U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the
Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission.
Parties who choose to file by paper should also submit
their filings on compact disc. The compact disc should be submitted,
along with three paper copies, to: Dana Wilson, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, 445 12th Street,
SW., Room 3-C418, Washington, DC 20554. The compact disc should be
formatted in an IBM compatible format using Word 2003 or a compatible
software; accompanied by a cover letter; submitted in ``read only''
mode; and clearly labeled with the commenter's name, proceeding
(including the docket numbers in this case [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG
Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No. 92-105]),
type of pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and
the name of the electronic file on the compact disc. The label should
also include the following phrase ``Disc Copy--Not an Original.'' Each
compact disc should contain only one party's pleading, preferably in a
single electronic file. In addition, paper filers must send one copy of
each compact disc to the Commission's duplicating contractor at Portals
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554.
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
Commercial mail sent by overnight mail (other than U.S.
Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Document DA 07-4178 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document
Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/headlines.html.
Document DA 07-4178 and any subsequently filed documents in this
matter will be available for public inspection and copying during
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554, (202)
418-0270. Document DA 07-4178 and any subsequently filed documents in
this matter may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating
contractor at the contractor's Web site, http://www.bcpiweb.com, or by
calling (800) 378-3160. Furthermore, document DA 07-4178, any
subsequently filed documents in this matter, and a copy of the
underlying petitions for waiver may be found by searching ECFS at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs (insert [WC Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No.
03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 or CC Docket No. 92-105] into the
Proceeding block).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Boehley, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Policy Division, at (202) 418-7395
(voice), or e-mail Lisa.Boehley@fcc.gov.
[[Page 61883]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 2007, the Commission released
the VoIP TRS Order, published at 72 FR 43546, August 6, 2007, WC Docket
No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC Docket No.
92-105, FCC 07-110. In the VoIP TRS Order, the Commission extended to
providers of interconnected VoIP services the application of its pre-
existing TRS rules under sections 225 and 255 of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended. Among other things, the VoIP TRS Order required
interconnected VoIP providers to offer 711 abbreviated dialing access
to TRS ``to ensure that TRS calls can be made from any telephone,
anywhere in the United States, and that such calls will be properly
routed to the appropriate relay center.''
On September 14, 2007, the VON Coalition filed a ``Motion for Stay
or Waiver,'' asking the Commission to stay the effective date of the
TRS requirements, including the 711 dialing requirement, as applied to
interconnected VoIP providers or, in the alternative, to waive those
requirements.
On September 21, 2007, USTelecom filed a petition requesting a two-
year waiver for interconnected VoIP providers of the requirement that
they route emergency 711 calls to a TRS provider capable of determining
the appropriate PSAP to call to respond to an emergency.
On September 21, 2007, Hamilton--a provider of traditional TRS
services in various states--filed a request for waiver of the TRS
emergency call handling requirements, as applied to traditional TRS
providers' handling of 711 calls that originate on interconnected VoIP
networks.
This is a summary of the Commission's public notice in document DA
07-4178, IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255 and
251(a)(2) of The Communications Act of 1934, as Enacted by The
Telecommunications Act of 1996: Access to Telecommunications Service,
Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons
with Disabilities; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-
Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities;
The Use of N11 Codes and other Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements, WC
Docket No. 04-36, CG Docket No. 03-123, WT Docket No. 96-198 and CC
Docket No. 92-105, adopted October 9, 2007, released October 9, 2007.
Document DA 07-4178 also contains a separate order granting in part and
denying in part the petitions for stay or waiver filed by the VON
Coalition, USTelecom, and Hamilton.
Pursuant to Sec. 1.1206 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1206,
this matter shall be treated as a ``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in
which ex parte communications are subject to disclosure.
Synopsis
In document DA 07-4178, the Commission seeks comment on the
petitions for stay or waiver filed by the VON Coalition, USTelecom, and
Hamilton. In particular, the Commission seeks comment on technical
solutions to the ability of interconnected VoIP providers to route all
711 calls to an appropriate relay center--defined as the relay
center(s) serving the state in which the caller is geographically
located, or the relay center(s) corresponding to the caller's last
registered address--and to the ability of a relay center to identify
the appropriate PSAP to call when receiving an emergency call via 711
and an interconnected VoIP service.
The Commission expects that interconnected VoIP providers, relay
service providers, and members of the industry and community will work
closely together to achieve a solution as expeditiously as possible
that will enable emergency 711 calls placed through interconnected VoIP
providers to be handled in accordance with the Commission's emergency
call handling procedures.
Federal Communications Commission.
Catherine W. Seidel,
Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E7-21523 Filed 10-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P