FCC Adopts Telephone Numbering System, E-911 Requirements
July 2, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order that adopts a system for assigning 10-digit telephone numbers to Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS).
This means that Internet-based TRS users will be able to reach and be reached by both hearing users of the traditional telephone network and other Internet-based TRS users by dialing a 10-digit phone number.
Internet-based TRS users will also be able to port their numbers from one provider to another and users will be able to use any Internet-based TRS provider they choose.
TRS and newer, Internet-based forms of TRS including Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol (IP) Relay allow persons with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate with hearing users of voice services.
Until the FCC order, there was no uniform, consistent way for voice telephone users to call Internet-based TRS users, said the FCC. Further, TRS typically has not provided the same access to emergency services as compared to traditional telephone services.
In addition, to ensure that Internet-based TRS users have functionally equivalent access to emergency services, the order requires providers to obtain and maintain the physical location of their users - the same obligation the FCC imposed on interconnected voice over IP providers - and to automatically route emergency calls from Internet-based TRS users to the appropriate emergency services authorities using such information.
The order also directs Internet-based TRS providers to notify their users of these changes.
Providers of Internet-based TRS must comply with the FCC’s requirements no later than Dec. 31, 2008.
In the notice of proposed rulemaking, the FCC seeks additional comment on related implementation issues, including, for example, the potential application of anti-slamming protections to protect relay consumers and whether and to what extent the customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules should apply to TRS providers.
Source: U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).