Section 64.604(c)(9), Emergency Interim Rule for Registration and Documentation of Disability for Eligibility to Use IP Captioned Telephone Service, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123
ICR 201302-3060-002
OMB: 3060-1182
Federal Form Document
⚠️ Notice: This information collection may be outdated. More recent filings for OMB 3060-1182 can be found here:
Section 64.604(c)(9),
Emergency Interim Rule for Registration and Documentation of
Disability for Eligibility to Use IP Captioned Telephone Service,
CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123
New
collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)
The Commission is requesting the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue emergency approval
within the effective date of the rules contained IP CTS Interim
Order to address certain practices related to the provision of
Internet protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS) that appear
to be contributing to a recent and dramatic spike in reimbursement
requests to the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
Fund (Fund), of sufficient magnitude to constitute a serious threat
to the Fund if not promptly and decisively addressed. Without
emergency approval of this information collection, the Fund may be
depleted due to the unnecessary subscription to and use of the
service by consumers without a hearing loss necessitating use of
the service, which will also put all other forms of TRS in
jeopardy.
In accordance with OMB's
emergency processing rules, 5 C.F.R. § 1320(13), the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) requests expedited
review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, of the new information collection requirements contained in
paragraphs 33-35 of the attached Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP)
Captioned Telephone Service Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(IP CTS Interim Order), adopted by the Commission on January 24,
2013. We make this request for emergency approval to address
certain practices related to the provision and marketing of
Internet protocol captioned telephone service (IP CTS) that appear
to be contributing to a recent and dramatic spike in reimbursement
requests to the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
Fund (Fund), of sufficient magnitude to constitute a serious threat
to the Fund if not promptly and decisively addressed. IP CTS is a
form of TRS that enables an individual with hearing loss to
communicate with other individuals. This is currently accomplished
through TRS facilities that are staffed by communications
assistants (CAs) who relay conversations between persons using a
specially designed telephone and persons using a standard
telephone. It works by having the hard of hearing user dial the
number she or he wishes to call. The users phone is automatically
connected to a captioned telephone CA at the same time she or he
reaches the called party. Once connected, the CA re-voices
everything the called party says, and uses voice recognition
technology to automatically transcribe those words into captions.
The captions then are transmitted directly to the user and are
displayed, shortly after the called party speaks, on the display of
a captioned telephone device, a computer, or a smartphone. When
this service was first established in 2007, the Commission set the
minimum standards that apply to all TRS, but did not establish any
eligibility criteria specifically for use of this service. To
prevent the unnecessary subscription to and use of the service by
consumers without a hearing loss that necessitates the assistance
of IP CTS to obtain functionally equivalent telephone service, the
Commission adopts interim rules to require each IP CTS provider, in
order to be eligible for compensation from the Fund for providing
service to new IP CTS users, (i) to register each new user, (ii) as
part of the registration process, to obtain from the user a
self-certification that the user has a hearing loss that
necessitates IP CTS to communicate in a manner that is functionally
equivalent to communication by conventional voice telephone users,
and (iii) where the consumer accepts IP CTS equipment at a price
below $75 from any source other than a government program, to also
obtain from the user a certification from an independent, third
party professional attesting to the same. The Commission will
publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking 15 days of public
comment on the information collection requirements. The Commission
is requesting that OMB approve the information collection
requirements 30 days after the collection is received at the
OMB.
US Code:
47
USC 225 Name of Law: Communications Act of 1934, as amended
The Commission is submitting
this collection as a new collection. If the emergency information
collection requirement is approved by OMB, the following program
change will be added to OMB's inventory for this collection as
follows: + 12,004 respondents; +24,000 responses; +18,000 hours;
and +$600,000 annual cost.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Eliot Greenwald 202
418-2235
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Emergency Letter Adopted January 24 2013.pdf
Supporting Statement OMB 3060-xxxx (February 4 2013).doc
Registration and Documentation of Disability for Eligibility to Use IP Captioned Telephone Service