Supporting Statement OMB 3060-1089 (2013)

3060-1089 November 2013

Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers; Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Service Numbering, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, and WC Docket No. 10-191; FCC 08-151, FCC 08-275, FCC 11-123

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification

1. With this submission, the Commission revises information collection 3060-1089: Telephone Numbering System and E911 Requirements for Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service Providers.

Between 2005 and 2010, the Commission issued five separate notices proposing rules to ensure numbering and E911 services to users of two forms of Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) — specifically, Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol Relay Service (IP Relay).¹ Those notices proposed several information collections, which the Office of Management and Budget reviewed and approved as part of Control Number 3060-1089.

History:

First Numbering Order.

On June 11, 2008, the Commission adopted the First Numbering Order (FCC 08-151) setting forth rules requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to supply numbering and E911 capabilities to their users. The First Numbering Order requires seven separate collections of information, which were approved, for a period of three years by OMB on November 14, 2008.² These information collections include the following:

Existing Information Collection Requirements

(A) Routing Information. VRS and IP Relay providers must obtain current routing information, including IP addresses or domain names and user names, from their registered users and must maintain such information in their internal databases.

(B) Provision of Routing Information. VRS and IP Relay providers must provision their registered users’ routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory and must maintain such information in that database.

(C) Registered Location. As of December 31, 2008, VRS and IP Relay providers must obtain from each newly registered user, prior to the initiation of service, the physical location at which the service will be utilized and keep that information in their own databases. If the VRS or IP Relay is capable of being used from more than one location, the providers must offer their registered users one or more methods of updating their physical location, including at least one option that requires use only of the customer premises equipment necessary to access the VRS or IP Relay. Any method utilized must allow a registered user to update his or her Registered Location at will and in a timely manner.

(D) Provision of Registered Location. As of December 31, 2008, each VRS and IP Relay provider must place its registered users’ Registered Location, the provider’s name, and the communications assistant’s (CA) identification number into, or make that information available through, Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases³ across the country.

(E) User Notification.⁴ Every VRS or IP Relay provider must include an advisory on its website and in any promotional materials addressing numbering or E911 services for VRS or IP Relay. At a minimum, the advisory must address the following issues: (i) the process by which VRS or IP Relay users may obtain ten-digit telephone numbers, including a brief summary of the numbering assignment and administration processes adopted herein; (ii) the portability of ten-digit telephone numbers assigned to VRS or IP Relay users; (iii) the process by which persons using VRS or IP Relay may submit, update, and confirm receipt by the provider of their Registered Location information; and (iv) an explanation emphasizing the importance of maintaining accurate, up-to-date Registered Location information with the user’s default provider in the event that the individual places an emergency call via an Internet-based relay service.

(F) Affirmative Acknowledgements. VRS and IP Relay providers must obtain and keep a record of affirmative acknowledgement from each of their registered users of having received and understood the user notification.

Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires the creation of a nationwide TRS program to allow persons with hearing and speech disabilities access to the nation’s telephone network.⁵ Title IV requires that TRS be available to the extent possible and in the most efficient manner,⁶ and that relay services offer access to the telephone system that is “functionally equivalent” to voice telephone services, as reflected in the TRS mandatory minimum standards.

VRS and IP Relay users have not previously had a reliable or consistent means by which others can identify or reach them because these services have not been linked to a uniform telephone numbering scheme. The First Numbering Order remedies this problem by, among other things, integrating VRS and IP Relay users into the ten-digit numbering system known as the North American Numbering Plan.

To complete a telephone call to an Internet-based TRS user, a provider must have some method of logically associating the telephone number dialed by the caller to the Internet-based TRS user’s device. That method, known as the TRS Numbering Directory, is a central database that maps each user’s telephone number to routing information needed to find that user’s device on the Internet. The First Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to collect and maintain the routing information from their registered users and to provision that information to the TRS Numbering Directory so that this mapping can occur.

The Commission is also obligated to promote “safety of life and property”⁷ and to “encourage and facilitate the prompt deployment throughout the United States of a seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable end-to-end infrastructure” for public safety.⁸ Enhanced 911 service — a critical part of the nation’s public safety infrastructure — enables all citizens to reach emergency services directly and efficiently, irrespective of technology.⁹ E911 works by routing emergency calls to the appropriate emergency answering authority over a dedicated, redundant, highly-reliable wireline network that is interconnected with but largely separate from the public switched telephone network (the Wireline E911 Network). E911 relies on Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases.

Because there previously has been no reliable means for VRS and IP Relay providers, unlike wireline carriers, to automatically know the physical location of their users, the First Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to collect and maintain the Registered Location of their registered users. And to ensure that authorities can retrieve a user’s Registered Location (along with the provider’s name and CA’s identification number for callback purposes), the First Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to provision that information into, or make that information available through, ALI databases across the country.

To ensure that Internet-based TRS users are aware of their providers’ numbering and E911 service obligations and to inform them of their providers’ E911 capabilities, the First Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to post an advisory on their websites and in any promotional materials addressing numbering or E911 services for VRS or IP Relay and to obtain and keep a record of affirmative acknowledgement from each of their registered users of having received and understood the user notification.

Second Numbering Order.

On December 19, 2008, the Commission adopted the Second Numbering Order (FCC 08-275), further addressing the duties of VRS and IP Relay providers to supply numbering and E911 capabilities to their users, as established in the First Numbering Order.¹⁰ The Second Numbering Order revises the “User Notification” information collection requirement adopted in the First Numbering Order to add additional requirements to the requirement as follows:

(E) User Notification (revised). In addition to the information that the Commission instructed VRS and IP Relay providers to include in the consumer advisories required by the First Numbering Order, VRS and IP Relay providers must include certain additional information in their consumer advisories under the Second Numbering Order. Specifically, the consumer advisories must explain that: (1) the consumer may obtain a telephone number from, and register with, his or her provider of choice; (2) the consumer may change default providers while retaining the same telephone number by porting that number to the new default provider; (3) the consumer may make calls through, and receive calls from, any provider; and (4) the provider cannot condition the ongoing use or possession of equipment, or the receipt of different or upgraded equipment, on the consumer continuing to use the provider as his or her default provider. These information collections include the following:

(G) Ascertaining Registration Status of VRS or IP Relay User. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must verify whether a dial around user is registered with another provider. The provider may do so by requesting a user’s ten-digit NANP number and querying the Numbering Directory using that number.

(H) Verifying Registration and Eligibility Information. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must institute procedures to verify the accuracy of registration information, including the consumer’s name and mailing address, and include a self certification component requiring consumers to verify that they have a medically recognized hearing or speech disability necessitating their use of TRS.

(I) Commission Approval for the Pass Through of Numbering Costs. Each VRS or IP Relay provider wishing to pass through numbering-related costs to its users must obtain Commission approval to do so.

(J) Information Sharing After a Change in Default Providers. Each VRS provider that provisions equipment to a consumer must make available to other VRS providers enough information about that equipment to enable another VRS provider selected as the consumer’s default provider to perform all of the functions of a default provider.

Statutory authority for the First and Second Numbering Orders is contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 225, 251, and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 225, 251, 303(r).

iTRS Toll Free Order.

On August 4, 2011, the Commission adopted the iTRS Toll Free Order (FCC 11-123). The Commission took steps to improve the assignment of telephone numbers associated iTRS, specifically, VRS and IP Relay. The iTRS Toll Free Order adopted the revised “User Notification” and the “Provision of Routing Information” information collection requirements that were first adopted in the First and Second Numbering Orders to add additional requirements to the requirement as follows:

(B) Provision of Routing Information (revision). In addition to provisioning their registered users’ routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory and maintaining such information in the database, the Commission proposes that VRS and IP relay providers must: (1) ensure that the toll free number of a user that is associated with a geographically appropriate NANP number will be associated with the same Uniform Resource Identifier URI as that geographically appropriate NANP telephone number.

(E) User Notification (revision). In addition to the information that the Commission instructed VRS and IP Relay providers to include in the consumer advisories required by the First and Second Numbering Orders, the Commission proposed that VRS and IP Relay providers include certain additional information in their consumer advisories under the iTRS Toll Free NPRM. Specifically, the consumer advisories must explain: (1) the process by which a VRS or IP Relay user may acquire a toll free number from a toll free service provider,; and (2) the process by which persons holding a toll free number may have that number linked to their ten-digit telephone number in the TRS Numbering Directory.

Statutory authority for the iTRS Toll Free Order is contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 225, 251(e), and 255 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154(i), 154(j), 225, 251(e), and 255.

2. The responses listed below address how, by whom, and the purpose of the information collection requirements adopted in the First Numbering Order, Second Numbering Order, and the iTRS Toll Free Order.

(A) Routing Information. Each VRS or IP Relay provider collects its registered users’ routing information from their communications devices so that such routing information can be provisioned into the TRS Numbering Directory.

(B) Provision of Routing Information. A VRS or IP Relay provider provisions its registered users’ routing information into the TRS Numbering Directory so that other providers can access that routing information to complete a call to a particular Internet-based TRS user.¹¹

(C) Registered Location. Each VRS or IP Relay provider collects its registered users’ Registered Locations using the same equipment the provider uses to provide service or any other methods the provider chooses to offer. A VRS or IP Relay provider, along with the entity that operates the Wireline E911 Network and public safety officials, uses the Registered Location to deliver 911 calls to the appropriate emergency answering point.

(D) Provision of Registered Location. A VRS or IP Relay provider, along with the entity that operates the Wireline E911 Network and public safety officials, provisions the Registered Location along with other callback information to public safety officials through ALI databases maintained by local exchange carriers (and, in at least one case, a state government) across the country. The VRS or IP Relay provider, the entity that operates the Wireline E911 Network, and public safety officials can then use this information to facilitate emergency response.

(E) User Notification. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must post an advisory on its website and in any promotional materials addressing numbering, toll free or E911 services for VRS or IP Relay so that customers understand the capabilities, limitations, and obligations of providers.¹²

(F) Affirmative Acknowledgements. Every VRS or IP Relay provider must obtain and keep a record of affirmative acknowledgement from each of their registered users of having received and understood the user notification to facilitate the Commission’s review and, if necessary, enforcement of these rules.

(G) Ascertaining Registration Status of VRS or IP Relay User. To verify whether a user is registered with another provider, a VRS or IP Relay provider may request a user’s ten-digit NANP number and query the Numbering Directory using that number. Providers will use this information to distinguish a new user who has not yet registered from an existing user who is dialing around the default provider with which he or she is registered.

(H) Verifying Registration and Eligibility Information. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must institute procedures to verify the accuracy of registration information, including the consumer’s name and mailing address, and include a self certification component requiring consumers to verify that they have a medically recognized hearing or speech disability necessitating their use of TRS. These measures will be used by VRS and IP Relay providers to ensure that their services are not used for fraudulent or other purposes not authorized by the statute or by the Commission’s rules.

(I) Commission Approval for the Pass Through of Numbering Costs. A VRS or IP Relay provider wishing to pass through numbering-related costs to its users must obtain Commission approval to do so. This requirement will be used by the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, acting on delegated authority, to ensure that only customer-specific, actually incurred costs are passed on to VRS and IP Relay users.

(J) Information Sharing After a Change in Default Providers. Every VRS provider that provisions equipment to a consumer must make available to the consumer’s newly selected default provider certain information about that equipment. This information will be used by the new default provider to perform the functions required of a default provider, including enabling point-to-point (non-relay) communications between VRS users, when a user switches providers but wishes to use equipment supplied by another default provider.

3. The Commission encourages VRS and IP Relay providers to use information technology to whatever extent possible to reduce the burden of the information collections adopted in the First Numbering Order, Second Numbering Order, and the iTRS Toll Free Order.

(A) Routing Information. The Commission expects that a VRS or IP Relay provider’s collection of routing information will be automatically done over the Internet.

(B) Provision of Routing Information. VRS and IP Relay providers must provision a registered user’s updated routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory by electronic means.

(C) Registered Location. If a VRS or IP Relay provider’s service is capable of being used from more than one location, the provider must offer its registered users one or more methods of updating their Registered Location, including at least one option that requires use only of the customer premises equipment necessary to access the VRS or IP Relay. The Commission expects that many VRS and IP Relay providers will also allow their registered users to update their Registered Location via a webpage.

(D) Provision of Registered Location. VRS and IP Relay providers must use electronic means to provide information in or through ALI databases.

(E) User Notification. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must use electronic means, i.e., a webpage, to disseminate the advisory. Providers must also include the advisory whenever they disseminate promotional materials addressing numbering, toll free, or E911 services for VRS or IP Relay using whatever method they choose, electronic or otherwise.¹³

(F) Affirmative Acknowledgements. The record of affirmative acknowledgements can be obtained and stored electronically, likely via a webpage and in an electronic database.

(G) Ascertaining Registration Status of VRS or IP Relay User. VRS and IP Relay providers must use electronic means to query the Numbering Directory using a VRS or IP Relay user’s ten-digit number in order to determine whether a user is registered with another provider.

(H) Verifying Registration and Eligibility Information. VRS and IP Relay providers may use electronic means to verify the accuracy of registration information and to allow a consumer to certify that he or she has a medically recognized hearing or speech disability necessitating his or her use of TRS.

(I) Commission Approval for the Pass Through of Numbering Costs. VRS and IP Relay providers may submit to the Commission in electronic format a request to pass through numbering-related costs to their users.

(J) Information Sharing After a Change in Default Providers. A VRS provider that provisions equipment to a consumer can make available to a newly selected default provider, in an electronic format, certain information about that equipment.

4. None of the information collected as a result of the First and Second Numbering Orders or the iTRS Toll Free Order will be duplicative of other information. The Commission has also taken the affirmative step of requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to cease acquiring routing information from any registered user that ports his or her number to another VRS or IP Relay provider.

5. In the First Numbering Order, Second Numbering Order, and the iTRS Toll Free Order, the Commission has attempted to balance the economic interests of small businesses with the significant public interest in access to numbering and E911 services when using VRS and IP Relay, and has taken several steps to minimize the information collection burden for small business concerns, including those with fewer than 25 employees.

(A) Routing Information. In requiring that VRS and IP Relay providers obtain routing information for their registered users, the First Numbering Order requires that providers that have issued, leased, or otherwise provided customer premises equipment (usually larger providers) must ensure that such equipment delivers routing information to each user’s default provider.

(B) Provision of Routing Information. Once a provider has automatically received that information, it can provision the TRS Numbering Directory with that information electronically.

(C) Registered Location. In requiring that VRS and IP Relay providers obtain their registered users’ Registered Location, the First Numbering Order allows providers to comply with this requirement directly or by utilizing the services of a third party.

(D) Provision of Registered Location. In requiring that VRS and IP Relay providers provision Registered Location information along with callback information to public safety officials through ALI databases, the First Numbering Order allows providers to comply with this requirement directly or by utilizing the services of a third party.

(E) User Notification. In requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to provide their users with an advisory about numbering, toll free and E911 services, the First and Second Numbering Orders only require posting on provider websites and in any promotional materials addressing those services.

(F) Affirmative Acknowledgements. Additionally, affirmative acknowledgements of having received the advisory by registered users can be received electronically through a provider’s website. The Commission believes that these requirements should entail minimal burden on small entities.

(G) Ascertaining Registration Status of VRS or IP Relay User. To the extent that VRS and IP Relay providers will use electronic means to query the Numbering Directory using a VRS or IP Relay user’s ten-digit number, the Commission believes that this requirement should entail minimal burden on small entities.

(H) Verifying Registration and Eligibility Information. The Second Numbering Order does not mandate the use of specific verification procedures and requires only that providers implement a reasonable means of verifying registration and eligibility information that is not unduly burdensome to the consumer. Allowing VRS and IP Relay providers to establish their own verification procedures should minimize the burden on small entities.

(I) Commission Approval for the Pass Through of Numbering Costs. The Second Numbering Order allows VRS and IP Relay providers to submit to the Commission in electronic format any request to pass through numbering-related costs to users, which should minimize any burden on small entities.

(J) Information Sharing After a Change in Default Providers. A VRS provider that provisions equipment to a consumer can make available to a newly selected default provider, in an electronic format, the information about that equipment that is required by the Second Numbering Order. This requirement should reduce the burden on small entities that are selected to be the default provider of a consumer who previously received equipment from another provider.

Three actions should minimize the impact on small businesses of the information collections adopted in the First and Second Numbering Orders, and iTRS Toll Free Order. First, VRS and IP Relay providers, large and small, have successfully completed the transition by implementing all of the numbering and E911 requirements, including the information collections contained therein. Second, these providers have successfully completed the transition by implementing all of toll free requirements, including the information collections contained therein. Third, the Commission has authorized the Interstate TRS Fund to include the reasonable costs of complying with the numbering and E911 requirements of the First and Second Numbering Orders as part of the rate setting methodology. These actions should substantially alleviate any burdens on small businesses, including those with fewer than 25 employees.

6. First Numbering Order. If a VRS or IP Relay provider did not collect a registered user’s routing information whenever that information changed, or did not provision any updated routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory, individuals and businesses trying to contact that registered user using his or her telephone number would be unable to complete the call. And if the contacting entity were a public safety official trying to reestablish contact after an interrupted call, less frequent information collection could hamper and threaten the integrity of a public safety response.

If a VRS or IP Relay provider did not collect a registered user’s Registered Location whenever that user sought to change it or did not provision a registered user’s Registered Location and other callback information through the ALI databases as needed, emergency calls could be routed to geographically inappropriate emergency authorities, and public safety officials would be stripped of the benefits of E911 service.

Posting a consumer advisory on a VRS or IP Relay provider’s website is a one-time collection and users may not realize the capabilities and obligations of those providers absent such an advisory. Requiring the inclusion of an advisory whenever a VRS or IP Relay provider disseminates promotional materials regarding numbering or E911 services ensures that every user who may rely on those services will know the provider’s capabilities and obligations.

The affirmative acknowledgements by registered users of having received the consumer advisory is a one-time collection. Without it, the Commission’s ability to review and enforce its advisory requirements would be hampered.

Second Numbering Order. The requirement that VRS and IP Relay providers ascertain the registration status of VRS and IP Relay users encourages users to register with a default provider. Without such a requirement, fewer users may undertake the registration process. An emergency VRS or IP Relay call placed by an unregistered user could be routed to geographically inappropriate emergency authorities and emergency personnel may lack information needed to ascertain the location of the emergency.

Requiring VRS and IP Relay providers to verify registration and eligibility information helps to reduce the fraudulent use of these services. Absent this requirement, the use of VRS and IP Relay by individuals or entities not authorized to use these services would likely increase.

VRS and IP Relay providers must obtain Commission approval to pass through numbering-related costs to their users. Absent this requirement, users might be charged costs exceeding those that the Commission has determined may be passed on to the user.

When a VRS consumer switches default providers, a VRS provider that has issued equipment to a consumer must make available to the consumer’s newly selected default provider certain information about the equipment. Absent this requirement, provider-supplied equipment may not operate properly, or at all, following the change of default providers.

iTRS Toll Free Order.

Additional information regarding toll free numbers to included on the VRS and IP Relay’s web posting and consumer advisory will help users obtain a toll free number from an independent toll free service provider.

7. A VRS or IP Relay provider may retain the affirmative acknowledgements by registered users of having received the advisory for more than three years to the extent users remain registered with that provider for more than three years.

8. The Commission placed 60-day notice in the Federal Register, as required by 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(d), seeking comments from the public on the information collections contained in this collection. See 78 FR 59028, September 25, 2013. No comments were received.

9. Section 225 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, creates a cost recovery regime whereby the Interstate TRS Fund compensates TRS providers for the reasonable costs of providing service in compliance with TRS regulations.¹⁴ Here, the Commission has authorized the Interstate TRS Fund to reimburse respondents for the actual reasonable costs of complying with the new requirements adopted in the First and Second Numbering Orders, and the iTRS Toll Free Order including costs for ensuring that the routing information in the TRS Numbering Directory is properly and timely updated and maintained; for routing emergency calls to the appropriate emergency authority and provisioning Registered Location information to the ALI databases; for disseminating the consumer advisory to users; for retaining the affirmative acknowledgements of registered users; for ascertaining the registration status of a dial around user; for verifying registration and eligibility information; and for sharing information with a new default provider concerning equipment supplied by the consumer’s former default provider.

10. The First Numbering Order requests comment on whether and how the Commission’s customer proprietary network information (CPNI) and other privacy protections should be extended to VRS and IP Relay providers and their collections of information required in the order.¹⁵ The Second Numbering Order prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of a VRS or IP Relay user’s personal information and notes that the Commission anticipates adopting rules more specifically addressing this prohibition in a future order.¹⁶

The Commission takes several steps to specifically protect registered users’ routing information and the provision of that information to the TRS Numbering Directory. First, VRS and IP Relay providers “must ensure that all [equipment] they have issued . . . to VRS or IP Relay users delivers routing information or other information only to the user’s default provider, except as is necessary to complete or receive ‘dial around’ calls on a case-by-case basis.”¹⁷ Second, VRS and IP Relay providers must “[t]ake such steps as are necessary to cease acquiring routing information from any VRS or IP Relay user that ports his or her number to another VRS or IP Relay provider or otherwise selects a new default provider”¹⁸ and they must stop provisioning that information to the TRS Numbering Directory.¹⁹ Third, access to the routing information in the TRS Numbering Directory is limited to VRS and IP Relay providers and an administrator.²⁰

The Commission also requires VRS and IP Relay providers to “[e]nsure” that gathering a registered user’s Registered Location and provisioning that information along with callback information into or through ALI databases “is limited to that needed to facilitate 911 services, is made available only to emergency call handlers and emergency response or law enforcement personnel, and is used for the sole purpose of ascertaining a user’s location in an emergency situation or for other emergency or law enforcement purposes.”²¹

This information collection affects individuals or households, and thus there are impacts under the Privacy Act. However, a third party, the individual or household’s VRS or IP Relay provider, collects the information that is related to individuals or households; and the Commission has no direct involvement in this collection. As such, the Commission is not required to complete a privacy impact assessment.²² Further, VRS and IP Relay providers generally have written privacy policies governing the treatment of information collected from their users, and the Commission expects that much of the information collected here would fall under those policies.

11. This information collection does not address any private matters of a sensitive nature.

12. Existing Information Collection Requirements:²³

First Numbering Order.

(A) Routing Information. Each of the eight currently certified VRS and IP Relay providers will need to obtain updated routing information and to provision that routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory whenever a registered user’s routing information changes. In addition, when any of the VRS and IP Relay providers register new users, those users will have to configure their devices to notify their default provider whenever their routing information changes. VRS and IP relay providers will likely need to follow up with those registered users who are unable to configure their devices for this purpose.

Routing Information (adopted as proposed in the iTRS Toll Free Order). In addition to the need to obtain updated routing information and to provision that routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory whenever a registered user’s routing information changes, the iTRS Toll Free Order requires that each of the eight providers ensure that the toll free number of a user that is associated with a geographically appropriate NANP number will be associated with the same URI as that geographically appropriate NANP telephone number. Although the burden for each VRS and IP Relay provider will vary based on the number of its registered users and customer churn, the Commission estimates on an industry-wide basis that the average burden will be 27,400 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden to the respondents is thus estimated to be $600,334 per year.

(B) Provision of Routing Information. The costs for provisioning the routing information to the TRS Numbering Directory are included in the calculations above for collecting routing information.

(C) Registered Location. Once VRS and IP Relay providers are required to obtain and retain a Registered Location for each registered user. VRS and IP Relay providers will need to register a user anytime the user receives a number from the provider and when the user ports his or her number from another provider. The Commission expects that most users will complete this registration process online, although some will prefer to speak with a service representative. The Commission also expects that a registered user may, on occasion, need to update his or her Registered Location, and that doing so will require less time because of his or her familiarity with the registration process. Although the burden for each VRS and IP Relay provider will vary based on the number of its registered users and customer churn, the Commission estimates on an industry-wide basis that the average burden will be 20,800 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $455,278 per year.

(D) Provision of Registered Location. VRS and IP Relay providers must place Registered Location and other callback information into, or make that information available through, ALI databases each time one of their registered users makes an emergency call. To do so, the VRS and IP Relay industry will need to hire on their staff software developers to maintain that system thereafter. The Commission estimates the average burden will be 4,160 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden per year is estimated to be $308,380.

(E) User Notification. In the Supporting Statement submitted to OMB in connection with the First Numbering Order, the Commission determined that provider decisions to incorporate consumer advisory information into promotional materials regularly sent by providers would not subject those providers to additional ann ual burden or “in-house” cost burden. In that same Supporting Statement, the Commission incorporated into 12(C) above the hour burden and “in-house” cost to providers of posting consumer advisory information on provider web sites.²⁴

In addition to the information that the Commission instructed VRS and IP Relay providers to include in the consumer advisories required by the First Numbering Order, the Second Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to revise the consumer advisories that they previously posted to their websites and to include the additional information in any promotional materials they elect to send to users.²⁵

Also, in addition to the information that the Commission instructed VRS and IP Relay providers to include in the consumer advisories required by the First Numbering Order, the Second Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to maintain and update the consumer advisories that they previously posted to their websites and to include the additional information regarding toll free issues in any promotional materials they elect to send to users.²⁶

Although the burden for each VRS and IP Relay provider and user will vary based on the number of promotional materials each provider sends to users, the Commission estimates on an industry-wide basis that the average burden will be 2,080 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $37,127 per year.

(F) Affirmative Acknowledgements. VRS and IP Relay providers must store a record of affirmative acknowledgement for each registered user. To the extent those records are stored electronically, the Commission estimates that annual, industry-wide burden will be 96 hours per year, and an average annual “in-house” cost burden of $3,499.

Second Numbering Order. The Second Numbering Order clarified and expanded upon the information that providers must include in the consumer advisories required by information collection (E), the User Notification requirement, which was originally adopted in the First Numbering Order. The Commission also sets out the costs of information collections (H) through (L), adopted in the Second Numbering Order.

In addition to the information that the Commission instructed VRS and IP Relay providers to include in the consumer advisories required by the First Numbering Order, the Second Numbering Order requires VRS and IP Relay providers to revise the consumer advisories that they previously posted to their websites and to include the additional information in any promotional materials they elect to send to users.²⁷

(G) Ascertaining Registration Status of VRS or IP Relay User. When a dial-around call is placed with a VRS or IP Relay provider, the provider must verify that the caller is registered with another provider to ensure that all eligible consumers using VRS or IP Relay are registered with a default provider. The provider may do so by requesting the caller’s ten-digit NANP number and querying the Numbering Directory using that number. Although the burden for each VRS and IP Relay provider and user will vary based on the number of dial-around calls handled by each provider and placed by each user, the Commission estimates on an industry-wide basis that the average burden will be 29,120 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $638,019 per year.

(H) Verifying the Accuracy of Registration Information. Every VRS and IP Relay provider must institute procedures to verify the accuracy of registration information, including the consumer’s name and mailing address, and include a self certification component requiring consumers to verify that they have a medically recognized hearing or speech disability necessitating their use of TRS. Although the burden for each VRS and IP Relay provider and user will vary depending on the specific verification procedure utilized by each provider, the Commission estimates the average burden will be 12,386 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $269,989 per year.

(I) Commission Approval for the Pass Through of Numbering Costs. Each VRS or IP Relay provider wishing to pass through numbering-related costs to its users must obtain Commission approval to do so. VRS or IP Relay providers wishing to pass through numbering-related costs to consumers may submit such a request to the Commission for review by the Commission’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (“CGB”). The Commission anticipates that providers electing to pass through numbering costs to their registered customers will submit for CGB review a quarterly filing containing proposed pass-through costs for the preceding quarter. Although the actual “in-house” burden hours will vary depending on, among other things, whether a provider elects to pass through numbering costs at all, and on the number of registered customers a provider has, the Commission estimates on an industry-wide basis that the average burden will be 256 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $7,855 per year.

(J) Information Sharing After a Change in Default Providers. Each VRS provider that provisions equipment to a consumer must make available to other VRS providers enough information about that equipment to enable another VRS provider selected as the consumer’s default provider to perform all of the functions of a default provider. This requirement encompasses two separate cost burdens: (1) development work by providers’ “in-house” software developers, in conjunction with “in-house” software developers of other default providers, to devise a technical solution that will ensure the proper functioning of equipment after a user changes default providers but retains the same equipment; and (2) the exchange of technical information between providers’ service representatives to apply this solution when a user seeks to change default providers and retains equipment issued by a former default provider. The average burden is estimated to be 2,923 hours per year. The average “in-house” cost burden will be $74,670 per year.

iTRS Toll Free Order.

The iTRS Toll Free Order adopted to clarify and expand the actions VRS and IP Relay providers must take in provisioning of routing information required by information collection (B), which is actually calculated in information collection (A), Provision of Routing Information, which was originally adopted in the First Numbering Order. In addition, the iTRS Toll Free Order adopted to clarify and expand upon the information that providers must include in the consumer advisories required by information collection (E), the User Notification requirement, which was originally adopted in the First Numbering Order, and modified in the Second Numbering Order.

Cumulative Totals of First, Second Numbering Orders and iTRS Toll Free Order.

Overall, the Commission expects the following, as a result of the First and Second Numbering Orders, and the iTRS Toll Free Order:

Total Number of Annual Respondents. 8

Total Number of Annual Responses. The Commission expects there to be an average of 2,495,002 responses per year.

Total Number of Annual Burden Hours. The Commission estimates annual cumulative burden hours associated with the First and Second Numbering Orders and iTRS Toll Free Order to be: 99,221 hours per year

Total Annual “In-House” Cost Burden. The Commission estimates the cumulative annual “in-house” cost associated with the First and Second Numbering Orders and iTRS Toll Free Order to be: $2,395,151 per year²⁸

13. The Commission expects that many of the initial costs of VRS and IP Relay providers — including the development of software systems needed to obtain, retain, and provision routing information; to obtain, retain, and provision Registered Location and other callback information; to notify users of the advisory; and to receive affirmative acknowledgements — will be covered by “in-house” work (burden hours), and those expenditures are included and amortized into the “in-house” cost burden as discussed above under question 12 since staff are employed to fulfill those requirements.

First Numbering Order. The Commission also estimates that VRS and IP Relay providers will need to spend $31,200 per year for additional server space, memory, communications, and backup/recovery service associated with routing systems; $31,200 per year for additional server space, memory, communications, and backup/recovery service associated with registration systems; and $1,940,000 per year for dedicated lines between gateway routers and specialized routers associated with provisioning information to the ALI databases. The Commission also expects VRS and IP Relay providers to pay an average of $145,000 per year for access to the Wireline E911 Network for provisioning information to the ALI databases, and $847 per year to store any affirmative acknowledgments sent to providers in paper form.

Second Numbering Order. In the Second Numbering Order, the Commission requires VRS and IP relay providers to obtain certifications of eligibility from users and to verify the accuracy of user registration information. To the extent that the certifications or verifications are completed in paper form, the Commission estimates that providers will pay $3,388 per year to store these files.

iTRS Toll Free Order. In the iTRS Toll Free Order, the Commission requires VRS and IP relay providers ensure that the toll free number of a user that is associated with a geographically appropriate NANP number will be associated with the same URI as that geographically appropriate NANP telephone number. The Commission expects these providers to spend $15,000 per year for additional server space, memory, communications, and backup/recovery service associated with the requirements. The Commission also requires request, gather and or provide information to facilitate the transfer of the toll free number to a toll free subscription with a toll free service provider that is under the direct control of the user. To the extent that the certifications or other documentation is completed and maintained in paper form, the Commission estimates that providers will pay $2,500 per year to store these files. The Commission expects this will cost the industry $17,500.

Thus, the Commission estimates that, for the First and Second Numbering Orders and the iTRS Toll Free Order, the cumulative total average, annualized costs for operations, maintenance, and purchase of services are $2,169,135.

TOTAL ANNUAL COST BURDEN. In sum, the Commission expects the total cost of complying with these requirements for the 8 VRS and IP Relay providers to be:

$2,100,000 per year in capital expenditures
+ $2,169,135 per year in annualized costs for operations, maintenance, etc.

$4,269,135 per year²⁹

14. The Commission estimates that the annualized cost to the Federal government for the review and evaluation of VRS and IP Relay provider filings containing the proposed pass through of certain numbering costs to consumers is approximately $76,590.³⁰ . The Commission assumes that review and evaluation by a Federal employee will take approximately 20 hours per filing and that an attorney will review them at $62.86 per hour.³¹ Thus, the wage cost to the Federal government for review and evaluation of provider filings would be $60,345.60.³²

None of the remaining information collection requirements in the First and Second Numbering Orders, and iTRS Toll Free Order involve information that will be directly reported to or reviewed by the Commission. To the extent that VRS and IP Relay providers can seek compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund for the reasonable, actual costs of complying with the First and Second Numbering Orders, and iTRS Toll Free Order, that funding will come not from the federal budget, but instead from contributions from carriers providing interstate telecommunications services.³³ Consequently, the annual cost to the federal government of the remaining information collections should be negligible.

15. Because several VRS and IP Relay providers exited the market, the Commission has reevaluated the information collection requirements burdens previously reported in this collection and have decreased its assessments due to this action. As a resulted, the following information collection requirements are no longer necessary: Interstate TRS Fund Submission, Message Notifying Callers of User’s New North American Numbering Plan, and the Transferring Toll Free Numbers requirements. Because those information collection requirements no longer exist, the Commission makes the following decreases in its program change:

Annual burden hours: -25,722, from 279,891 to 254,169;

Annual number of responses: -181,051, from 5,763,199 to 5,582,148.

Furthermore, the Commission has re-estimated the remaining burdens to reflect any changes that may have occurred since the last time this information collection was reviewed and approved by OMB.

Therefore, the commission makes the following adjustments: -7 respondents, from 15 to 8, -154,948, annual hours, from 254,169 to 99,221, and -3,087,146 annual number of responses, from 5,582,148 to 2,495,002.

16. The information collected will not be published for statistical use.

17. The information collection does not include any Commission forms; consequently, the Commission has no reason to seek approval to avoid displaying the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

18. There are no exceptions to the Certification Statement.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

The information collections do not employ any statistical methods.

1 See Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Access to Emergency Services, CG Docket No. 03-123, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 20 FCC Rcd 19476 (Nov. 30, 2005); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) and Video Relay Service, CG Docket No. 03-123, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 21 FCC Rcd 5478 (May 8, 2006); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory Ruling and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 21 FCC Rcd 5442 (May 9, 2006); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 23 FCC Rcd 11591 (June 24, 2008) (First Numbering Order); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Second Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 24 FCC Rcd 791 (2008) (Second Internet-based TRS Order); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers; Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Service Numbering, CG Docket No. 03-123; WC Docket No. 05-196; WC Docket No. 10‑191, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 25 FCC Rcd 13767 (2010) (iTRS Toll Free NPRM); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers; Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Service Numbering, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket Nos. 05-196 and 10-191, Report and Order, WC Docket No. 10-191, 26 FCC Rcd 11779 (2011) (iTRS Toll Free Order)

2 73 FR 70905-01 (published Nov. 24, 2008) (announcing effective date of 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.605(a) and (b), and 64.611(a), (b), (c) and (f)).

3 Automatic Location Information (ALI) databases contain location information that is associated with calling numbers that are used to route emergency calls appropriately.

4 As discussed further below, the Commission revised the “User Notification” information collection requirement in the Second Numbering Order which added additional requirements to the user notification requirement. The Commission is proposing a revision to this requirement that will require OMB review and approval.

5 Pub. L. No. 101-336, § 401, 104 Stat. 327, 336–69 (1990); 47 U.S.C. § 225.

6 47 U.S.C. § 225(b)(1).

7 See 47 U.S.C. § 151.

8 911 Act § 2(b).

9 See 911 Act § 3, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 251(e).

10 Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers, CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, Second Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 24 FCC Rcd 791 (Dec. 19, 2008) (Second Numbering Order).

11 As noted above, although this notification requirement was adopted in the First Numbering Order, proposed revisions were made in the iTRS Toll Free NPRM to include certain additional information.

12 As noted above, although this notification requirement was adopted in the First Numbering Order, it was revised to include certain additional information in the Second Numbering Order and proposed revisions in the iTRS Toll Free NPRM.

13 These means of disseminating consumer advisory information were not altered by the revisions made to the “User Notification” requirement in the Second Numbering Order.

14 47 U.S.C. § 225(d)(3); 47 C.F.R. § 64.604(c)(5).

15 See First Numbering Order, FCC 08-151, at 49–56, paras. 131–46. Section 222 of the Act prevents telecommunications carriers from disclosing customer proprietary network information (CPNI), including customer location information, without customer approval. 47 U.S.C. § 222(c)(1).

16 In the VRS Reform Order, the Commission adopted new CPNI rules for VRS in order to ensure that the VRS user experiences a service that is functionally equivalent to a voice telephone service, including the privacy protections of the Commission’s CPNI regulations.

17 First Numbering Order, FCC 08-151, Appendix B (amending 47 C.F.R. § 64.611(e)(1)) (emphasis added).

18 Id. (amending 47 C.F.R. § 64.611(c)(2)(i)).

19 See id. (amending 47 C.F.R. § 64.611(c)(2)(ii)).

20 See id. (amending 47 C.F.R. § 64.613(a)(3)).

21 See id. (amending 47 C.F.R. § 64.605(a)(2)(vi)).

22 We note that new rules adopted in the VRS Reform Order will restructure the VRS program by centralize the user registration and verification system to be administered by an independent third-party entity under contract. Currently each VRS and IP Relay providers use their own separate registration and verification system which proved to be cost inefficient and susceptible to false registration information.

23 See Appendix B for the calculations of the burden hours and in-house cost for this information collection.

24 The Commission both clarified and expanded upon the information that must be included in these consumer advisories in the Second Numbering Order. Therefore, the expected increase in providers’ annual “in-house” burden hours and costs is reflected below in the summary of information collections adopted in the Second Numbering Order.

25 In particular, the consumer advisories must explain to consumers that: (1) the consumer may obtain a telephone number from, and register with, his or her provider of choice; (2) the consumer may change default providers while retaining the same telephone number by porting that number to the new default provider; (3) the consumer may make calls through, and receive calls from, any provider; and (4) the provider cannot condition the ongoing use or possession of equipment, or the receipt of different or upgraded equipment, on the consumer continuing to use the provider as his or her default provider.

26 In particular, the consumer advisories must explain to consumers that: (1) the process by which a VRS or IP Relay user may acquire a toll free number from a toll free service provider, or transfer control of a toll free number from a VRS or IP Relay provider to the user; and; (2) the process by which persons holding a toll free number may have that number linked to their ten-digit telephone number in the TRS Numbering Directory.

27 In particular, the consumer advisories must explain to consumers that: (1) the consumer may obtain a telephone number from, and register with, his or her provider of choice; (2) the consumer may change default providers while retaining the same telephone number by porting that number to the new default provider; (3) the consumer may make calls through, and receive calls from, any provider; and (4) the provider cannot condition the ongoing use or possession of equipment, or the receipt of different or upgraded equipment, on the consumer continuing to use the provider as his or her default provider.

28 Because the Commission has authorized the TRS Interstate Fund to reimburse VRS and IP Relay providers for the actual reasonable costs of complying with most of the new requirements adopted in the First and Second Numbering Orders, and iTRS Toll Free Order, we expect most of the burden of these information collections will fall not on providers but on the Fund.

29 Because the Commission has authorized the Interstate TRS Fund to reimburse VRS and IP Relay providers for the actual reasonable costs of complying with most of the new requirements adopted in the First and Second Numbering Orders and the iTRS Toll Free Order, we expect much of the burden of these information collections will fall not on providers but on the Fund.

30 “In-house” costs to VRS and IP Relay providers associated with the filing by providers with the Commission of the proposed pass through of certain numbering costs are included in question 12(K) above.

31 The Commission calculates the hourly rate by taking the hourly salary for a GS-13, step 5 employee in the Washington, D.C. pay area at the given grade and step and increasing that number by 30% to reflect overhead and other costs.

32 This calculation was calculated as follows: 12 providers x 4 filings/year (1 filing being filed every 3 months (quarterly) for a total of 4 filings/year) x 20 hours/filing x $62.86/hour = $60,345.60.

33 See 47 C.F.R. § 64.604(c)(5)(iii).

19