NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: January 10, 2014 Michael Snyder, 202-418-0997 Email: Michael.Snyder@fcc.gov FCC TO HOLD STAKEHOLDER MEETING FOR iTRS NATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM ON JANUARY 17, 2014 The FCC announced today a stakeholders’ meeting for establishing an Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service National Outreach Program (iTRS-NOP) for video relay service (VRS) and Internet protocol relay service (IP Relay). Date: Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 Time: 2-3 pm Location: Commission Meeting Room, FCC Headquarters, 445 12 th Street, S.W., Washington, DC The Commission’s June 10, 2013 VRS Reform Order requires the establishment of a two-to-three year pilot iTRS-NOP for VRS and IP Relay to educate the public about the use and availability of TRS and further its acceptance nationwide by hearing persons and merchants. The Order directed the selection of one or more independent iTRS Outreach Coordinators to conduct and coordinate IP Relay and VRS outreach under the Commission’s supervision. According to the Order, outreach activities should include, but not be limited to, the following: ? Consulting with consumer groups, IP Relay and VRS providers, the TRS Fund administrator, other TRS stakeholders, and other iTRS Outreach Coordinators, if any ? Establishing clear and concise messaging about the purposes, functions, and benefits of IP Relay and VRS ? Educating the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech disability consumers about the broadband adoption programs available to low-income families without access to broadband and VRS ? Determining media outlets and other appropriate avenues for providing the general public and potential new-to-category subscribers with information about IP Relay and VRS ? Preparing for and arranging for publication, press releases, announcements, digital postcards, newsletters, and media spots about IP Relay and VRS that are directed to retailers and other businesses, including trade associations ? Creating electronic and media tool kits that include samples of the materials listed in the previous bullet, and which may also include templates, all of which will be for the purpose of facilitating the preparation and distribution of such materials by consumer and industry associations, governmental entities, and other TRS stakeholders ? Providing materials to local, state, and national governmental agencies on the purposes, functions, and benefits of IP Relay and VRS ? Exploring opportunities to partner and collaborate with other entities to disseminate information about IP Relay and VRS The Commission notes that nothing said at the meeting should be construed as: ? A Government commitment to buy or otherwise acquire goods or services from any participant ? A suggestion or implication that any participant is or will become a preferred source of acquisition for any particular good or service ? An obligation or suggestion that the Government will develop any particular work statement or include any particular contract term or conditions in a future acquisition as a result of the meeting Participation is limited to one person from each organization or company, although others may observe the meeting. Any person who wishes to attend as a participant or an observer must contact the Commission at the number or email below to confirm their attendance. The meeting site is fully accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. Sign language interpreters, open captioning, and assistive listening devices will be provided on site. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests should include a description of the accommodation needed and contact information. E-mail requests to: fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). The meeting will be webcast live with open captioning from the FCC Live web page at www.fcc.gov/live. The meeting will also be available live through Accessible Event, a service that works with a web browser to make presentations accessible to people with disabilities. Persons wishing to attend through Accessible Event can listen to the audio and use a screen reader to read displayed documents, and can watch the video with open captioning. The website to access Accessible Event is http://accessibleevent.com. The web page prompts for an Event Code which is: 005202376. To learn about the features of Accessible Event, consult its User’s Guide at: http://accessibleevent.com/doc/user_guide/. For more information, please contact Elaine Gardner, Attorney Advisor, Disability Rights Office, at Elaine.Gardner@fcc.gov or (202) 418-0581. -- FCC –