STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN KEVIN J. MARTIN
Re:  Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for 
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Internet-based Captioned 
Telephone Service, CG Docket No. 03-123
Today we take another step to help improve the quality of life for individuals with 
disabilities.  By finding that Internet Protocol (IP) captioned telephone relay service is 
eligible for reimbursement from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS)
Fund, we make progress in fulfilling our statutory goal of ensuring that every person has 
equal access to this nation’s communications services.  
IP captioned relay service allows a broader range of individuals to communicate as it 
permits users to initiate telephone calls from any Internet-enabled device. By not being 
constrained to a specific piece of equipment that resides in a particular location, users of 
this service have tremendous flexibility in how and where they use this service.  
Moreover, this item ensures that individuals with disabilities have access to new 
technologies and, specifically, realize the benefits of broadband services.
Because we expect, however, that IP captioned telephone service will not be under the 
control of just one vendor or provider, the Commission’s action is conditioned on the 
licensing of captioned telephone technologies to all providers.  And, although we permit 
this service to be compensable from the Interstate TRS Fund, it is important to emphasize 
that this is an interim measure.  This past summer, we initiated a proceeding to consider 
the appropriate cost recovery methodology for relay services, including jurisdictional 
separation of costs. The Commission is committed to taking all necessary actions to 
ensure that the TRS program is operated as efficiently and effectively as possible.  It is 
only by doing so that we can continue to ensure that individuals with disabilities have the 
same access to communication technologies as all other Americans.