NEWSReport No. CC 97-3            COMMON CARRIER ACTION 
January 14, 1997
 
                             FCC LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO IMPROVING
TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY
SERVICES (TRS) FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING AND SPEECH DISABILITIES
   (CC Docket No.  90-571)
   
              The FCC has adopted a Notice of Inquiry seeking
comment on the
   effectiveness of the current Telecommunications Relay Services
(TRS) program. The
   Commission stated that several provisions of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996
   (the 1996 Act) require telecommunication providers to develop
telecommunications
   networks that are accessible to people with hearing and speech
disabilities.  In this
   NOI, the Commission asks for comment on how the TRS program
can be improved
   to bring more telecommunications services to people with
disabilities.
   
          TRS is a telephone transmission service that provides
"functionally
   equivalent" access to the telephone network to more than 30
million Americans with
   hearing or speech disabilities. The Commission sets minimum
operational, functional,
   and technical standards for TRS, certifies state TRS programs,
and oversees the
   administration of the interstate TRS cost-recovery fund. 
   
          In the NOI, the Commission asked for comment on its
current mandatory
   minimum TRS standards and whether any modifications should be
made to these
   standards.  In this NOI, the Commission seeks to assess the
quality of existing TRS
   and the costs and benefits of imposing additional minimum TRS
standards.  The
   Commission noted that its current certifications of state TRS
programs expire on July
   26, 1998, and that this NOI will provide an opportunity to
evaluate the effectiveness
   of its TRS standards prior to the next certification cycle. 
   
          The Commission also asked for comment on the
relationship between Title IV
   of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and
Section 255 of the 1996
   Act.  The Commission noted that in the ADA Congress directed
the FCC to ensure
   that persons with hearing and speech disabilities benefit from
technological advances.
   Improved forms of TRS can make TRS accessible to more
individuals with
   disabilities, including people who cannot effectively use text
telephones (TTYs),
   people with severe speech disabilities, and people who do not
use English as their
   primary language.
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          Finally, the Commission asked for comment on the
feasibility and costs of
   providing improved forms of TRS, including Video Relay
Interpreting (VRI), speech-
   to-speech relay services, and multilingual relay services. 
The Commission also seeks
   comment on whether the TRS service should be expanded to
people who do not use
   English as a primary language.
   
          Action by the Commission January 9, 1997 by Notice of
Inquiry (FCC 97-7).
   Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness, and Chong.
   
          News media contacts:  Jodie Buenning at (202) 418-1500
or Rochelle Cohen
          at (202) 418-0500 or for TTY ONLY call  (202) 418-2555.
          Common Carrier Bureau contact: Andrew Firth at (202)
418-1898 (voice); 
          418-2224 (TTY) ; e-mail: Afirth@fcc.gov