FCC Reaffirms VRS

The Federal Communications Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued a Declaratory Ruling to reaffirm the FCC's rules and policies concerning Video Relay Service (VRS) reimbursement and calling practices, and maximize efficiency and effectiveness of this program to ensure that the communications needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers are met.

Bureau Chief Joel Gurin said: "Today's action is a first step in fixing a system that is broken. It is essential to keep VRS on a sound footing. Consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing have come to rely on VRS as a service that lets them communicate easily, fluently, and expressively. The Telecommunications Relay Service Fund was established to support exactly that kind of communication. But the Fund can't be used to support practices that are designed only to increase payments to VRS providers, rather than providing a necessary service for people who need it. We're taking a strong first step today to stop these practices and ensure that the Fund is always used to benefit the deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers it was designed to help." The action emphasized that VRS calls made or arranged to generate per-minute fees for the providers are not and have never been compensable from the TRS Fund, which funds all forms of relay service. This includes a number of calls initiated by or on behalf of VRS providers, including calls made to podcasts or recorded messages.