NOTICES
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC
UTILITY COMMISSION
Petition of Hamilton Relay, Inc. for Approval of Real Time Text Trial
[50 Pa.B. 3555]
[Saturday, July 11, 2020]Public Meeting held
June 18, 2020Commissioners Present: Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, Chairperson; David W. Sweet, Vice Chairperson; John F. Coleman, Jr.; Ralph V. Yanora
Petition of Hamilton Relay, Inc. for Approval of Real Time Text Trial; P-2019-3008352
Order By the Commission:
On February 14, 2019, Hamilton Relay, Inc. (Hamilton), filed an Executive Summary and related information seeking Commission approval to conduct a 90-day pilot project of Real Time Text (RTT) (RTT Pilot) supported by the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund. No party has opposed Hamilton's request. As discussed below, the Commission concludes that Hamilton's proposed RTT Pilot could provide a basis for determining whether RTT should become a regular component of the TRS program in Pennsylvania and that it is reasonable and prudent to use the TRS Fund to underwrite the costs of the RTT Pilot. For these reasons, the Commission grants Hamilton's request to begin a 90-day RTT Pilot in Pennsylvania to help the Commission determine whether it should incorporate and approve the permanent expansion and funding for the distribution of RTT-capable devices to modernize Pennsylvania's TRS and Telecommunications Device Distribution program (TDDP).
Background
The Commission established certificated traditional relay service and the associated surcharge funding mechanism in 1990 at Docket No. M-00900239.1 TRS is a telecommunications service that, inter alia, allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls.2 Subsequently, Act 34 of 1995, 35 P.S. §§ 6701.1—6701.4, codified the operation of relay service and the Commission's oversight of the TRS Fund and the TRS surcharge mechanism. Intrastate relay service, funded by the TRS Fund, endeavors to provide equivalent access to telecommunications services for end-user consumers with physical impairments.3
Consistent with its mission to provide equivalent telephone service to Pennsylvanians with disabilities, the Commission has spearheaded many initiatives to enhance communications options for persons that have any disability that prevents them from using standard telecommunication equipment. Beginning in 2003, the Commission conducted a trial of Captioned Telephone Service (CTS), and then implemented it permanently.4 In 2014, the Commission found the TRS Program capable of supporting technology through radio or wire and ''authorized funding for the distribution of Internet Protocol (IP) enabled wireline devices through the TDDP to eligible end-users in response to changing technology.'' WEI Order at 7, infra fn. 5. More recently, in February 2019, following the conclusion of a pilot project, the Commission formally expanded the TDDP to provide for the distribution of wireless devices to eligible persons with qualified disabilities.5
Much like the CTS and WEI trials, Hamilton now seeks to implement an RTT Pilot in Pennsylvania that is designed to test the use of RTT technology by eligible Pennsylvanians. Hamilton conducted a live demonstration of the RTT technology for the TRS Advisory Board at its meeting of December 5, 2018, and the members recommended to the Commission that Pennsylvania should be included in a short-term limited trial of Hamilton's RTT technology. On February 14, 2019, Hamilton filed its Executive Summary, earlier described, making this request official. Thereafter, on or about July 1, 2019, the Chair of the TRS Advisory Board forwarded a letter to the Commission in support of the RTT Pilot.
Subsequently, on October 14, 2019, Hamilton submitted a proprietary response to Commission staff inquiries with additional details involving the technology, equipment, and costs of the planned RTT Pilot.6 On February 22, 2020, the Commission published a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin seeking comment on the proposed trial. No comments were filed.
Discussion
The Commission's regulations allow for a party seeking relief to file a petition as set forth in 52 Pa. Code § 5.41 (relating to Petitions). In this proceeding, Hamilton filed an Executive Summary and related information with the Commission seeking approval to conduct an RTT Pilot funded through the state TRS Fund. Because Hamilton's request for relief does not comply with Section 5.41 of our regulations, the Commission could simply dismiss the filing.
This notwithstanding, the Commission will exercise its discretion to treat the combined filings as if they were compliant with the Commission's procedural regulations. The Commission may overlook procedural defects in order to secure the just speedy or inexpensive determination of every matter or proceeding to which its regulations apply. 52 Pa. Code § 1.2(a). Additionally, notice of Hamilton's request was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and no party opposed the filing. Therefore, a determination to overlook the defects of Hamilton's filing does not affect the substantive rights of any interested party. Thus, in the interest of a just and expeditious resolution of the matter, the Commission will overlook the procedural defects in the petition and rule on its merits.
As for the merits of Hamilton's filing, the RTT Pilot is designed to test the use of wireline RTT technology among eligible Pennsylvanians who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or have a speech disability so that they may eventually transition from text telephone (TTY) technology to RTT as a reliable and interoperable communications technology over IP-enabled networks. TTY technology is over 50 years old. Traditional TTY uses a legacy electromechanical typewriter designed for analog voice phone landlines to communicate with another TTY. Text-to-Voice TTY-based TRS uses a TTY to call an intermediary at the relay center. Through the TTY keyboard, users type their telephone conversations. The text is read on a display screen or a paper printout. A TTY user calls a TRS relay center and types the number of the person he or she wishes to call. The relay center then makes a voice telephone call to the other party to the call and relays the call back and forth between the parties by speaking what a text user types, and typing what a voice telephone user speaks.
RTT is a next-generation digital, IP-based communications capability that transmits text immediately as the sender types. RTT provides text communications for TRS users that may be more functionally equivalent to live interaction as it allows for bi-directional conversations that may also include voice and special characters and does so without the need for a third-party intermediary services. Further, participants will be able to use the Hamilton RTT device over an IP-based connection to communicate directly with other Hamilton RTT trial participants; place and receive calls with speed, clarity, and enhanced capabilities, and conduct voice or text conversations, or both, according to their preferences all while being able to change mode during the call.7
In support of the RTT technology, the Chair of the Commission's TRS Advisory Board submitted a letter explaining the functionality of RTT technology and how it allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to have a more ''natural'' conversation when placing or receiving telephone calls:
RTT is a feature that allows people to view a text message via specialized equipment as it is being typed. The text can be received at the same time it is being transmitted by the individual's ''communication partner,'' without being garbled (which is what would happen with current technology). The biggest benefit is the naturalness of the conversation.TRS Advisory Board Chair Letter, July 1, 2019, at 1.
Hamilton is proposing to implement a short-term trial in Pennsylvania for the purpose of determining whether RTT technology provides a substantial benefit to people with hearing loss such that the technology may replace TTY in the near future.8 The RTT Pilot would recruit and select up to 50 eligible participants over a 90-day period. During the RTT Pilot, Hamilton proposes to distribute selected RTT-capable wireline devices equipped with appropriate applications and software to these eligible participants. More specifically, in addition to the devices, Hamilton will provide 24/7 customer support for trial participants; program management, monitoring, and support that will include assistance to applicable Pennsylvania staff involved in the pilot; development of Communication Assistant (CA) procedures, user manuals including questionnaires, user guides, test call instructions and other services; billing and reporting including invoicing, and reports in call volume, and finally a project completion final report that will also include analysis of participants' feedback and an evaluation of the use of this system.9
The pilot will have some calling limitations. Because Hamilton will cover the per-minute costs of each phone call other than session minutes involving CAs, international calls will not be allowed. More importantly, 911/E911 calling capability will be limited because Hamilton, through the pilot, plans to conduct extensive emergency call testing of the new technology before proposing it as a primary device for emergency calls. For that reason, Hamilton will be required to instruct participants that they cannot rely on the RTT phone for emergency calling and must have an alternate method to contact 911.10
Hamilton is requesting that during the course of the RTT Pilot, the distribution of the RTT-capable devices be supported from the existing TRS Fund. Besides the costs of the RTT-specific devices, Hamilton also proposes that the TRS Fund support all other relevant costs of the RTT Pilot except as noted above. This would include the personnel costs for managing the overall project through its 90-day trial, as well as a setup period. Hamilton has proposed a specific proprietary program cost, consisting of a pilot development, setup, operations, and support for 50 participants at a flat fee. In addition, Hamilton has proposed a proprietary per-minute rate for any session minutes of use (MOU) that utilize a CA through the relay center. A session MOU is calculated from the moment a CA connects to an incoming RTF call until the CA disconnects the last party. This includes incoming calls (busy, no answer, or wrong number) that do not reach the intended called party and includes call set-up and wrap-up.11
In 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules to facilitate a transition from TTY technology to RTT. The FCC initiated a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether an alternative text technology for IP-based networks should replace TTY technology.12 The FCC concluded that the technical and functional limitations of TTY technology, which was developed more than 50 years ago for a circuit switched environment, render that technology unsuitable for providing full and effective access to IP-based wireless telephone networks. As a result, the FCC amended it rules to allow (1) wireless providers to support RTT rather than TTY technology for communications using wireless IP-based voice services; and (2) providers of telecommunications and interconnected VoIP services provided over wireless IP facilities, and manufacturers of equipment used with such services, to support RTT rather than support TTY technology in the context of the federal TRS program.13 The FCC noted the longstanding need for this transition:
Changes to communications networks, particularly ongoing technology transitions from circuit switched to IP-based networks and from copper to wireless and fiber infrastructure, have affected the quality and utility of TTY technology, prompting discussions on transitioning to an alternative advanced communications technology for text communications. For example, as early as 2010, the Commission's National Broadband Plan recommended opening a proceeding to implement a standard for reliable and interoperable RTT.* * * * * Recognizing the limitations of TTY technology in an IP environment and the need to transition to a more advanced text communications solution, we proposed to require wireless IP-based service providers and manufacturers of IP-based wireless end user devices to support RTT in lieu of supporting TTY technology. Further, we sought comment on extending RTT support requirements to wireline IP-based services and equipment. We asked whether there are certain minimum functionalities of RTT that must be supported to provide people with disabilities with text-based telephone service that is as accessible, usable, and otherwise as effective as voice-based services over IP-based networks.14Like the FCC, the Commission acknowledges that more and more of its jurisdictional telecommunications carriers are migrating to IP-based networks. Unlike TTY, RTT technology allows a text message by a customer with a hearing or speech impairment to be sent immediately as it is created through devices that support RTT over these modern IP-based networks.
The Commission has determined that the proposed Hamilton RTT Pilot may be of material benefit in demonstrating the viability of RTT-capable devices to produce reliable and seamless communications for persons with disabilities in Pennsylvania through wireline networks and the appropriate RTT-capable wireline devices. The RTT Pilot will advance the Commission's stated policy goals to continue the modernization of Pennsylvania's TRS and TDDP programs through the introduction of new technologies and equivalent communications capabilities for persons with disabilities, and do so in appropriate collaboration with Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
In accordance with the rationale and parameters that the Commission adopted in its WEI Order, we find that the proposed Hamilton RTT Pilot is in the public interest.15 The Commission finds the proposed RTT Pilot may provide a basis for determining whether wireline RTT should become a regular component of the TRS program in Pennsylvania. Since the Commission will allow Hamilton to seek reimbursement from the TRS Fund in order to underwrite the costs of the RTT Pilot, Hamilton shall be required to file with the Commission a final report on the findings resulting from the RTT Pilot as described above.16 To the extent not already proposed, Hamilton shall ensure that the report shall include an itemized statement of costs and a survey of user experience.
Hamilton's proposed flat fee appears reasonable in consideration of the scope of services to be provided during the pilot. We therefore approve that portion of the requested funding as proposed. However, in addition to the flat fee, Hamilton also proposes a CA-assisted relay MOU rate that differs from Hamilton's currently tariffed rate. We cannot approve this new rate without any supporting information from Hamilton to justify the difference. Absent more information, which Hamilton may provide in an addendum to the filing or a compliance filing prior to the implementation of the pilot, we may only approve application of a relay MOU rate that is already on file in Hamilton's current capacity as Pennsylvania's Commission-approved TRS provider.17 In order to charge a per-session-minute rate that deviates from Hamilton's TRS tariff, Hamilton must provide some evidence that a different rate is justified, or stated differently, that the proposed rate for the pilot service is just and reasonable.18 Hamilton has provided no evidence to support its proposed MOU rate. Therefore, the Commission is left without any basis to conclude that a rate other than the tariffed-rate is appropriate for the trial. For this reason, the Commission rejects the proposed per-session-minute rate to the extent it would deviate from the current TRS tariff.
Additionally, because the proposed RTT Pilot could potentially benefit other eligible persons with qualified disabilities beyond those limited participants who will be in the RTT Pilot, we further direct that Hamilton comply with the following general parameters:
• 20 days prior to beginning RTT service under the trial, Hamilton shall provide notice to the Commission at this docket of the commencement date and confirmation of the one-time fees or costs and recurring minutes of use rates to be charged to the Pennsylvania Telecommunications Relay Fund during the trial.• Hamilton shall advise trial participants that the trial does not support emergency calling, and that they must have an independent method to contact 911.• Hamilton shall account for its RTT Pilot one-time and recurring per session minute costs as items to be charged for the provision of regular TRS services by submitting detailed bills for the costs incurred for the 90-day RTT Pilot to Commission staff, consistent with current bill payment procedures.• Hamilton shall collaborate with the Department of Labor and Industry's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as well as the Temple University Institute on Disabilities. To the extent that Hamilton will make available appropriately configured RTT wireline devices to eligible persons with disabilities under the existing TDDP program administered by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Temple University Institute on Disabilities, it shall identify the cost of such devices that will be charged to the TDDP program. These should be separately identified as RTT Pilot specific costs and not as part of Hamilton's routine provision of intrastate TRS and Captioned Telephone Service in Pennsylvania.• Hamilton shall file with the Commission no later than 60 days after the conclusion of the RTT Pilot a detailed report at this Docket that shall discuss, but not be limited to, the results of the RTT Pilot, any associated costs that are in addition to the applicable devices, all known and anticipated benefits, and a recommendation on including the RTT as a permanent part of the TRS Program, with a proposed budget if continuation is recommended.Upon review of the final report to be filed by Hamilton at the conclusion of the pilot, the Commission will determine whether to seek proposals for incorporating RTT as a regular component of the Pennsylvania TRS and TDDP programs.
Accordingly, we approve the Hamilton proposed RTT Pilot within the parameters of its proposal and this Order, including the associated funding request as modified herein; Therefore,
It Is Ordered That:
1. The Petition for Real Time Text Trial filed by the Hamilton Relay, Inc., at Docket No. P-2019-3008352 is hereby granted consistent with this Order.
2. Hamilton Relay, Inc., shall, 20 days prior to beginning RTT service under the trial, provide notice to the Commission at this docket of the commencement date and confirmation of the one-time fees or costs and recurring minutes of use rates to be charged to the Pennsylvania Telecommunications Relay Fund during the trial.
3. Hamilton Relay, Inc., shall recruit and select up to 50 eligible Pennsylvania residents who will be physically in Pennsylvania over the 90-day period of its RTT communications technology as participants.
4. Hamilton Relay, Inc., shall inform and disclose upfront to all residents participating in the 90-day Real Time Text Pilot that 911/E911 calls will not be supported during the course of the trial and Hamilton Relay, Inc. must take all appropriate measures to ensure that the RTT Pilot participants and users of the wireline RTT Pilot devices are aware of their requirement to maintain separate, adequate, and reliable 911/E911 emergency calling capabilities.
5. The Pennsylvania Telecommunications Relay Fund shall be used to support the costs specifically related to Hamilton Relay, Inc.'s distribution and administration during the 90-day RTT Pilot. Hamilton Relay, Inc., will account for its RTT Pilot one-time and recurring per session minute costs as items to be charged for the provision of regular TRS services by submitting detailed bills for the costs incurred for the 90-day RTT Pilot to Commission staff, consistent with current bill payment procedures.
6. Hamilton Relay, Inc., shall collaborate with the Department of Labor and Industry's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as well as the Temple University Institute on Disabilities.
7. To the extent that Hamilton Relay, Inc., will make available appropriately configured RTT wireline devices to eligible persons with disabilities under the existing TDDP program administered by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Temple University Institute on Disabilities, it shall identify the cost of such devices that will be charged to the TDDP program. These should be separately identified as RTT Pilot specific costs and not as part of Hamilton's routine provision of intrastate TRS and Captioned Telephone Service in Pennsylvania.
8. Hamilton Relay, Inc., shall file with the Commission no later than 60 days after the conclusion of the RTT Pilot, a detailed report at this Docket that shall discuss, but not be limited to, the results of the RTT Pilot as identified in the body of this Order, any associated costs that are in addition to the applicable devices, all known and anticipated benefits, and a recommendation on including the RTT as a permanent part of the TRS Program, with a proposed budget if continuation is recommended.
9. A copy of this Order shall be served on Hamilton Relay, Inc., the Department of Labor and Industry's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
10. A copy of this Order shall be served on the Office of Consumer Advocate, the Office of Small Business Advocate, and the Hearing Loss Association of America Pennsylvania State Office.
11. A copy of this Order be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
ROSEMARY CHIAVETTA,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 20-922. Filed for public inspection July 10, 2020, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 See generally Petition of the Pennsylvania Telephone Association Requesting the Commission to Approve Implementation of Pennsylvania Relay Service for the Deaf, Hearing and/or Speech Impaired Community within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Docket No. M-00900239 (Orders entered May 29 and July 9, 1990) (collectively 1990 TRS Orders), also cited at 35 P.S. § 6701.4(c). See also 52 Pa. Code § 63.37, operation of the TRS system and relay service fund, and 47 U.S.C. § 225, telecommunications services for hearing-impaired and speech-impaired individuals.
2 Traditional TRS uses operators or communication assistants to facilitate telephone calls between people with hearing and speech disabilities and other individuals by relaying voice to text and vice-versa.
3 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.
4 See In re Pennsylvania Telephone Relay Service—Captioned Telephone Service, Docket No. M-00900239F0008 (Order entered June 29, 2004) (describing the early history of CTS in Pennsylvania).
5 Petition of the Department of Labor & Industry Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for a Proposed Pilot for Distribution of Telecommunications Relay Service Wireless Equipment to People with Disabilities in Pennsylvania, Docket Nos. P-2015-2484229 et al. (Order entered February 27, 2019) (wireless expansion initiative or WEI Order). In a parallel Order entered the same day, the Commission instituted a Task Force for a comprehensive examination of the TRS and TDDP programs in Pennsylvania. M-00900239.
6 Docket No. P-2019-3008352, Hamilton, Real Time Text Trial Statement of Work and Costs, October 14, 2019 (Proprietary) (Work and Cost Statement).
7 Work and Cost Statement at 2.
8 In order to make RTT work with the Relay, Hamilton's affiliate, Hamilton Long Distance, is offering to provide the necessary Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
9 Work and Cost Statement at 2-3.
10 Work and Cost Statement at 3. While Hamilton asserts that participants should have emergency back up, we will require that Hamilton advise participants that the must have such backup. Ultimately, if implemented on a wide scale, the RTT system will likely support such calls more reliably than the current analog TTY system.
11 Work and Cost Estimate at 3.
12 Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology; Petition for Rulemaking to Update the Commission's Rules for Access to Support the Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology, and Petition for Waiver of Rules Requiring Support of TTY Technology, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 6247, 6248, 6295 (April 28, 2016).
13 See generally In re Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology; Petition for Rulemaking to Update the Commission's Rules for Access to Support the Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology, and Petition for Waiver of Rules Requiring Support of TTY Technology, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 13568 (December 15, 2016).
14 Id. ¶¶ 3, 5 (citations omitted).
15 WEI Order at 17.
16 To the extent applicable and in the event that Hamilton involves one or more states other than Pennsylvania in the same trial of its wireline RTT communications technology, with a corresponding sharing of underlying one-time and recurring costs, Hamilton will adjust its Pennsylvania-specific budgetary requirements accordingly and provide appropriate and timely notice to the Commission and its Bureau of Technical Utility Services.
17 Application of Hamilton Relay, Inc. for Approval to Offer, Render, Furnish or Supply Telecommunication Relay Services for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Speech Impaired Individuals to the Public throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Docket No. A-2014-2447601 (Order entered December 4, 2014) (order approving application and directing tariff filing).
18 Hamilton Relay, Inc. Supplement No. 2 to Tariff TRS PA P.U.C. No. 1, Docket No. R-2017-2639884 (Order entered February 9, 2018) at 4.
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