16 Tex. Admin. Code § 26.414 - Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
(a) Purpose. The
provisions of this section are intended to establish a statewide
telecommunications relay service for individuals who are hearing-impaired or
speech-impaired using specialized telecommunications devices and operator
translations. Telecommunications relay service must be provided on a statewide
basis by one telecommunications carrier, except that the commission may
contract with another vendor for a special feature in certain circumstances.
Certain aspects of telecommunications relay service operations are applicable
to local exchange companies and other telecommunications providers.
(b) Provision of TRS. TRS must provide
individuals who are hearing-impaired or speech-impaired with access to the
telecommunications network in Texas equal to that provided to other customers.
(1) Components of TRS. TRS must meet the
mandatory minimum standards defined in §
26.5 of this title (relating to
Definitions) and must include the following:
(A) switching and transmission of the
call;
(B) oral and print
translations by either live or automated means between individuals who are
hearing-impaired or speech-impaired who use specialized telecommunications
devices and others who do not have such devices;
(C) sufficient operators and facilities to
meet the grade and quality of service standards established by the commission
for TRS, including the operator answering performance standards listed in
§
26.54(c)(2)(A) and
(D) of this title (relating to Service
Objectives and Performance Benchmarks).
(D) appropriate procedures for handling
emergency calls;
(E)
confidentiality regarding existence and content of conversations;
(F) the capability of providing sufficient
information to allow calls to be accurately billed;
(G) the capability of providing for
technologies such as hearing carryover or voice carryover;
(H) operator training to relay the contents
of the call as accurately as possible without intervening in the
communications;
(I) operator
training in American Sign Language and familiarity with the special
communications needs of individuals who are hearing-impaired or
speech-impaired;
(J) the capability
for callers to place calls through TRS from locations other than their primary
location and to utilize alternate billing arrangements;
(K) the capability of providing both inbound
and outbound intrastate and interstate service;
(L) the capability for carrier of choice;
and
(M) other service enhancements
approved by the commission.
(2) Conditions for interstate service. The
TRS carrier must not be reimbursed from the Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF)
for the cost of providing interstate TRS. Interstate TRS must be funded through
the interstate jurisdiction as mandated by the Federal Communications
Commission. Separate funds and records must be maintained by the TRS carrier
for intrastate TRS and interstate TRS.
(3) Rates and charges. The following rates
and charges apply to TRS:
(A) Local calls.
The calling and called parties must bear no charges for calls originating and
terminating within the same toll-free local calling scope.
(B) Intrastate long distance calls. The TRS
carrier must discount its tariffed intrastate rates by 50% for TRS
users.
(C) Access charges. A
telecommunication provider must not impose access charges on calls that make
use of this service or on calls that originate and terminate within the same
toll-free local calling scope.
(D)
Billing and collection services. Upon request by the TRS carrier, a
telecommunications provider must provide billing and collection services in
support of this service at just and reasonable rates.
(c) Contract for the TRS carrier.
(1) Selection. On or before April 1, 2000,
the commission will issue a request for proposal and select a carrier to
provide statewide TRS based on the following criteria: price, the interests of
individuals who are hearing-impaired and speech-impaired in having access to a
high quality and technologically advanced telecommunications system, and all
other factors listed in the commission's request for proposals. The commission
will consider each proposal in a manner that does not disclose the contents of
the proposal to competing offerors . The commission's determination will
include evaluations of charges for the service, service enhancements proposed
by the offerors, and technological sophistication of the network proposed by
the offerors . The commission will make a written award of the contract to the
offeror whose proposal is the most advantageous to the state.
(2) Contract administration.
(A) Contract amendments. All recommendations
for amendments to the contract must be filed with the executive director of the
commission on June 1 of each year. The executive director is authorized to
approve or deny all amendments to the contract between the TRS carrier and the
commission, provided, however, that the commission specifically will approve
any amendment that will increase the cost of TRS.
(B) Reports. Each TRS carrier and
telecommunications provider must submit reports of their activities relating to
the provision of TRS upon request of the commission or the Relay Texas
administrator.
(C) Compensation.
Each TRS carrier must be compensated by the TUSF for providing TRS at the
rates, terms, and conditions established in its contract with the commission,
subject to the following conditions:
(i)
Reimbursement must include the TRS costs that are not paid by the calling or
the called party, except the TRS carrier must not be reimbursed for the 50%
discount set forth in subsection (b)(3)(B) of this section.
(ii) Reimbursement may include a return on
the investment required to provide the service and the cost of unbillable and
uncollectible calls placed through the service, provided that the cost of
unbillable and uncollectible calls must be subject to a reasonable limitation
as determined by the commission.
(iii) The TRS carrier must submit a monthly
report to the commission justifying its claims for reimbursement under the
contract. Upon approval by the commission, the TUSF must make a disbursement in
the approved amount.
(d) Special features for TRS.
(1) The commission may contract for a special
feature for the state's telecommunications relay access service if the
commission determines:
(A) the feature will
benefit the communication of persons with an impairment of hearing or
speech;
(B) installation of the
feature will be of benefit to the state; and
(C) the feature will make the relay access
service available to a greater number of users.
(2) If the carrier selected to provide the
telecommunications relay access service is unable to provide the special
feature at the best value to the state, the commission may make a written award
of a contract for a different carrier to provide the special feature to the
telecommunications carrier whose proposal is most advantageous to the state,
considering;
(A) factors stated in subsection
(c)(1) of this section;
(B) the
past performance demonstrated capability and experience of the
carrier.
(3) The
commission will consider each proposal in a manner that does not disclose the
contents of the proposal to a telecommunications carrier making a competing
proposal.
(4) The commission's
evaluation of a telecommunications carrier's proposal must include the
considerations listed in subsection (c)(1) of this section.
(e) Advisory Committee. The
commission will appoint an Advisory Committee, to be known as the Relay Texas
Advisory Committee (RTAC) to assist the commission in administering TRS and the
specialized telecommunications assistance program, as specified by the Public
Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §56.111. The Relay Texas administrator must
serve as a liaison between RTAC and the commission. The Relay Texas
administrator must ensure that RTAC receives clerical and staff support,
including a secretary or court reporter to document RTAC meetings.
(1) Composition. The commission will appoint
RTAC members based on recommended lists of candidates submitted by the
organizations named as follows. RTAC must be composed of:
(A) two persons with disabilities other than
disabilities of hearing and speech that impair the ability to effectively
access the telephone network;
(B)
one deaf person recommended by the Texas Deaf Caucus;
(C) one deaf person recommended by the Texas
Association of the Deaf;
(D) one
hearing-impaired person recommended by Self-Help for the Hard of
Hearing;
(E) one hearing-impaired
person recommended by the American Association of Retired Persons;
(F) one deaf and blind person recommended by
the Texas Deaf or Blind Association ;
(G) one speech-impaired person and one
speech-impaired and hearing-impaired person recommended by the Coalition of
Texans with Disabilities;
(H) two
representatives of telecommunications utilities, one representing a local
exchange company and one representing a telecommunications carrier other than a
local exchange company, chosen from a list of candidates provided by the Texas
Telephone Association;
(I) two
persons, at least one of whom is deaf, with experience in providing relay
services, recommended by the Texas Commission for the Deaf; and
(J) two public members recommended by
organizations representing consumers of telecommunications services.
(2) Conditions of membership. The
term of office of each RTAC member must be two years. A member whose term has
expired must continue to serve until a qualified replacement is appointed. In
the event a member cannot complete his or her term, the commission will appoint
a qualified replacement to serve the remainder of the term. RTAC members must
serve without compensation but must be entitled to reimbursement at rates
established for state employees for travel and per diem incurred in the
performance of their official duties, provided such reimbursement is authorized
by the Texas Legislature in the General Appropriations Act.
(3) Responsibilities. The RTAC must undertake
the following responsibilities:
(A) monitor
the establishment, administration, and promotion of the statewide
TRS;
(B) advise the commission
regarding the pursuit of services that meet the needs of individuals who are
hearing-impaired or speech-impaired in communicating with other users of
telecommunications services;
(C)
advise the commission regarding issues related to the contract between the TRS
carrier and the commission, including any proposed amendments to such
contract;
(D) advise the commission
and the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, at the request of
either commission, regarding issues related to the specialized
telecommunications assistance program, including devices or services suitable
to meet the needs of persons with disabilities in communicating with other
users of telecommunications services.
(4) Committee activities report. After each
RTAC meeting, the Relay Texas administrator must prepare a report to the
commission regarding RTAC activities and recommendations.
(A) The Relay Texas administrator must file
in Central Records under Project Number 13928, and provide to each
commissioner, a report containing:
(i) the
minutes of the meeting;
(ii) a memo
summarizing the meeting; and
(iii)
a list of items, recommended by RTAC, for the Relay Texas administrator to
discuss with the TRS carrier, including issues related to the provisioning of
the service that do not require amendments to the contract.
(B) Within 20 days after a report
is filed, any commissioner may request that one or more items described in the
report be placed on an agenda to be discussed during an open meeting of the
commission. If no commissioner requests that the list be placed on an agenda
for an open meeting, the report is deemed approved by the commission.
(5) Evaluation of RTAC costs and
effectiveness. The commission will evaluate the advisory committee annually.
The evaluation will be conducted by an evaluation team appointed by the
executive director of the commission. The commission liaison, RTAC members, and
other commission employees who work directly or indirectly with RTAC, TRS, or
the equipment distribution program are not be eligible to serve on the
evaluation team. The evaluation team will report to the commission in open
meeting each August of its findings regarding:
(A) the committee's work;
(B) the committee's usefulness; and
(C) the costs related to the committee's
existence, including the cost of agency staff time spent in support of the
committee's activities.
Notes
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