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Overview
Beginning on December 31, 2008, persons with hearing
and/or speech disabilities who use Video Relay Service (VRS) or Internet
Protocol Relay (IP Relay) – two forms of Internet-based Telecommunications
Relay Service (TRS) – will be able to obtain ten-digit telephone numbers
from their VRS or IP Relay provider. These are the ten-digit telephone
numbers used by voice telephone users. New Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) rules require that VRS and IP Relay users be able to make and receive
calls using their new ten-digit numbers, and be able to make 911 calls and
have those calls – AND the caller’s ten-digit number and location
information – routed to the appropriate public safety answering point, the
same enhanced 911 (E911) call center used by voice telephone users.
This advisory contains important information for VRS
and IP Relay users on how to obtain a ten-digit number, what the new FCC
rules require providers to do, and how the new 911 call handling
requirements will result in more functionally-equivalent 911 access for VRS
and IP Relay users.
Ten-Digit Geographic Numbers
Ten-digit geographic telephone numbering has been the
standard used for voice telephone service in North America for decades.
Ten-digit numbers consist of a three-digit area code that corresponds to the
consumer’s geographic address, followed by a three-digit number associated
with the consumer’s local telephone exchange, then a four-digit number
unique to the end user. With a ten-digit geographic number, VRS and IP Relay
users can be reached through a single number that will automatically connect
to the user’s primary (“default”) VRS or IP Relay provider (see “Registering
with a Default Provider” below) and allow the provider to determine the
user’s IP address for purposes of delivering incoming calls made to that
number. In other words, voice telephone users calling a VRS or IP Relay user
through a relay provider will no longer have to dial the telephone number of
a provider and then give the provider the current IP address of the VRS or
IP Relay user so that the communications assistant (CA) can connect the
call. Instead, they will simply dial the VRS or IP Relay user’s assigned
ten-digit geographic telephone number.
How to Obtain a Ten-Digit Geographic Number
Beginning December 31, 2008, VRS and IP Relay users may
obtain a ten-digit geographic number by contacting and registering with the
VRS or IP Relay provider of their choice. This provider becomes the
consumer’s “default” provider (see “Registering with a Default Provider”
below), although a consumer can still use other providers to make and
receive calls using the telephone number for that provider. (See “Placing or
Receiving Calls Through An Alternate Provider” below.) Although consumers
must choose one default provider, they are free to switch default providers,
just as voice telephone users can switch telephone providers. (See “Changing
Default Providers” below.)
Who May Obtain a Ten-Digit Geographic Number
Any individual with a hearing and/or speech disability
who wishes to use VRS or IP Relay may obtain a ten-digit geographic number.
During the registration process, users will be asked to certify that they
have a medically-recognized hearing or speech disability that necessitates
their use of VRS or IP Relay.
Registering with a Default Provider
Once a VRS or IP Relay user selects and registers with
a provider, this provider becomes the user’s “default provider.” When a user
registers, the provider must obtain the user’s physical address, or
“Registered Location,” at which the VRS or IP Relay service will first be
used. Providers also must give users an easy way to update their location
information if it changes, without cost or additional equipment.
Registration enables VRS and IP Relay providers to match their users’
telephone numbers with the users’ IP addresses to properly route and
complete calls, and obtain their users’ physical locations in order to
provide E911 service. Thus registration, including the updating of users’
Registered Location information, is critical to ensuring that providers can
route all calls properly, especially emergency calls to appropriate
emergency services personnel. (See “Emergency 911 Calls Using VRS or IP
Relay” below.)
Users may register with any VRS or IP Relay provider
they choose, regardless of any prior relationship they may have had with
another VRS or IP Relay provider. The default provider will route and
deliver all of the user’s incoming and outgoing calls, unless the user
chooses to place a call with, or receives a call from, an alternate
provider. (See “Placing or Receiving Calls Through An Alternate Provider”
below.) Consumers may change their default providers at any time. (See
“Changing Default Providers” below.)
Registration Schedule and Transitioning to Ten-Digit
Geographic Numbers
Beginning December 31, 2008, any eligible new VRS or IP
Relay users (those using VRS or IP Relay for the first time), and any
eligible newly-provisioned VRS or IP Relay users, including users to
whom a VRS or IP Relay provider delivers a new device or application
software download, must register with a provider and obtain a ten-digit
geographic number.
For existing users (for example, users who have
been issued proxy numbers, or who have been issued devices that connect with
a provider’s service), the FCC has established two time periods for the
transition to the use of the new ten-digit numbers: a three-month
Registration Period, and a six-month Permissive Dialing Period.
Three-Month Registration Period. Because it may
not be possible for all current VRS and IP Relay users to register with a
default provider by December 31, 2008, the FCC has established a
Registration Period to allow existing VRS and IP Relay users to
register with a default provider. Existing users may register with
the provider of their choice during the three-month period beginning
December 31, 2008, and ending March 31, 2009.
Six-Month Permissive Dialing Period. Between
December 31, 2008, and June 30, 2009, VRS or IP Relay users who have
received ten-digit geographic numbers may still receive calls to their
former “proxy” or “alias” numbers. Default providers will provide messages
notifying callers of their users’ new ten-digit geographic numbers and
advising callers that, after June 30, 2009, users may only be reached by
dialing the new number. (Please note that, after June 30, 2009, any
toll-free number used to route VRS or IP Relay calls must be directed to the
appropriate ten-digit geographic number. (See “Individual Toll-Free Numbers”
below.)
After June 30, 2009, all eligible VRS and IP Relay
users must be registered with a default provider in order to place a
non-emergency call through any VRS or IP Relay provider.
Placing or Receiving Calls Through an Alternate
Provider (“Dial-Around” Calls)
VRS and IP Relay users are not limited to placing or
receiving calls through their default provider. They have the right to place
or receive calls through any authorized VRS or IP Relay provider, as they
have done in the past, without any penalty or retaliation from their default
provider. Users can place a call through an alternate provider by clicking
on the URL Internet address of the provider, or by dialing the toll-free
number of the provider they wish to handle their call. Default providers may
not configure their end user equipment to make reaching an alternate
provider more difficult after ten-digit numbering than before ten-digit
numbering. Similarly, VRS and IP Relay users may receive calls from voice
telephone users dialing a provider’s toll-free number and asking to be
connected to the VRS or IP Relay user’s ten-digit geographic number.
Changing Default Providers (Functionality of End
User Equipment After the Switch)
VRS or IP Relay users may select and register with a
new default provider at any time and may also have their ten-digit
geographic numbers transferred (“ported”) to that provider. The procedures
for porting a VRS or IP Relay telephone number and a voice telephone number
are the same. For more information on local number portability, see the
FCC’s consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.html.
VRS or IP Relay users switching to a new default provider
and porting their numbers are entitled to keep equipment supplied by another
VRS or IP Relay provider. The new default provider must work with the users’
equipment to ensure that users can make and receive VRS and IP Relay calls,
as well as point-to-point (non-relay) calls. Users should not assume that
enhanced features of the equipment, such as missed call lists or speed dial
lists, will still be available after switching default providers. Because
providers offer these features on a competitive basis, users should ask,
prior to selecting or changing default providers, whether and how a
prospective default provider can provide enhanced services on the user’s
equipment.
Limits on the Assignment of Ten-Digit Geographic
Numbers
Users may obtain separate ten-digit geographic numbers
for different services (for example, one number for VRS and a second number
for IP Relay). The FCC’s rules do not prohibit a provider from offering a
feature that automatically forwards incoming calls to one service (VRS, for
example) to the user at another service (IP Relay, for example), if both
numbers are obtained from the same provider and if this arrangement does not
result in additional costs to the Interstate TRS Fund.
For the same service, a user also may obtain separate
ten-digit geographic numbers for devices placed at different locations (for
example, one VRS device at home and another at the office). As noted above,
the FCC’s rules do not prohibit a provider that has issued more than one
ten-digit geographic number for the same service (but different devices)
from offering a feature that automatically forwards an incoming call to an
Internet address associated with one telephone number to the user at an
Internet address associated with another telephone number, if forwarding
does not result in additional costs to the Interstate TRS Fund.
Individual Toll-Free Numbers
Some VRS and IP Relay providers have already issued
their users individual, toll-free numbers that permit calls to users from
anywhere within the United States without incurring long distance charges
(the call is free of charge to the calling party). VRS or IP Relay users may
retain current toll-free numbers or obtain new toll-free numbers if: (1)
they have also been assigned ten-digit geographic numbers by June 30, 2009,
(the last day of the permissive dialing period); (2) the toll-free numbers
are directed to users’ ten-digit geographic numbers by that date; and (3)
such arrangements do not result in additional costs to the Interstate TRS
Fund. (See “Numbering Costs” below.)
Numbering Costs
Consistent with the Communication Act’s functional
equivalency mandate, costs typically paid by voice telephone users are not
compensable from the Interstate TRS Fund. These costs include: (1) the costs
of obtaining a ten-digit geographic number; (2) the costs of obtaining and
using an individual toll-free telephone number; and (3) E911 charges that
may be imposed under a state or local E911 funding mechanism. To protect
consumers, the FCC requires any VRS or IP Relay provider wishing to pass on
to users any non-compensable, numbering-related costs to first obtain
approval from the FCC.
Emergency 911 Calls Using VRS or IP Relay
Under the FCC’s new emergency call handling rules, VRS
and IP Relay users will be able to make an emergency call through their
default provider and have the call, along with the ten-digit number and
Registered Location of the caller, automatically route to an appropriate
public safety answering point (E911 call center). In addition, all 911
emergency calls made through VRS or IP Relay must receive priority attention
so that they will be answered by the first available CA ahead of all other
non-emergency calls.
Users are strongly encouraged to provide accurate and
up-to-date Registered Location information to their default provider, both
when registering with their default provider and ANY time they change the
location from which they are using the service. Without accurate and
up-to-date location information, providers will be unable to send accurate
location information or route 911 calls to appropriate emergency personnel.
Remember, in an emergency, seconds count – please keep your Registered
Location information updated at all times.
Emergency Calling Tips for VRS and IP Relay Users
Make sure you are familiar with your provider’s
procedures for updating your Registered Location, and promptly update the
information any time it changes, even if the change is temporary.
Know any limitations of your service; for example, have
a plan for making emergency calls in the event of a power or Internet
outage.
Inform children, babysitters, and visitors about using
your VRS or IP Relay service; the limitations, if any, on placing emergency
calls; and all information needed in the event of an emergency. Keep
instructions for using the service, as well as your address and other
information, written down and near your VRS or IP Relay equipment.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you have a problem completing a 911 call, the
important thing is to first reach help. Either dial-around to another
provider to tell them about the emergency (including your location), or
utilize your back-up plan for emergency calling. As soon as practicable
after the emergency, notify your provider of any problem completing a 911
call through that provider. If your provider cannot or does not properly
address any problem, you can file a complaint with the FCC. There is no
charge for filing a complaint. You can file your complaint using an on-line
complaint form found on the FCC Web site at
esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. You can also file your complaint with the
FCC’s Consumer Center by emailing
fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC
(1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing
1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.
What to Include in Your Complaint
The best way to provide all the information the FCC needs
to process your complaint is to complete fully the on-line complaint form.
When you open the on-line complaint form, you will be asked a series of
questions that will take you to the particular section of the form you need
to complete. If you do not use the on-line complaint form, your complaint,
at a minimum, should indicate:
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your name, address, email address, and phone number
where you can be reached;
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whether you are filing a complaint on behalf of another
party, and if so, the party’s name, address, email address, day time phone
number, and your relationship to the party;
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preferred format or method of response (letter, fax,
voice phone call, email, TRS, TTY, ASCII text, audio recording, or Braille);
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that your complaint is about TRS;
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the name, address, and telephone number (if known) of
the company or companies involved with your complaint; and
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a brief description of your complaint and the
resolution you are seeking, and a full description of the equipment or
service you are complaining about, including date of purchase, use, or
attempt to use.
For More Information
For more information about TRS, VRS, or IP Relay, or to
learn more about FCC programs to promote access to telecommunications
services for people with disabilities, visit the FCC’s Disability Rights
Office Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro. For
information about other telecommunications issues, visit the FCC’s Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb,
or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center using the information provided for filing
a complaint.
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Federal Communications Commission · Consumer
& Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. ·
Washington, DC 20554 |
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1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) ·
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) · Fax: 1-866-418-0232 · www.fcc.gov/cgb/
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Federal Communications Commission
