Media Contact: 
Mike Snyder 
michael.snyder@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC PROPOSES NEW RULES FOR CAPTIONED PHONE CALLS THAT IMPROVE SERVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
Commission Seeks to Apply Different Compensation Rates for Captioning Service Using Automatic Speech Recognition Versus Operator-Assisted Call Captioning
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WASHINGTON, December 21, 2022—The Federal Communications Commission today approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for a new three-year plan for compensation rates for Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS).  This service, supported through the Interstate Telephone Relay Service (TRS) Fund, allows individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing to read captions of phone conversations as they occur.

The Commission is proposing that IP CTS providers be compensated using separate per-minute formulas, based on whether captioning for a telephone call is provided on a fully automatic basis or with the help of a communications assistant (CA).  It costs less per minute to provide captions using only automatic speech recognition (ASR) than if a CA is involved.

Prior to 2020, all telephone captioning was provided by CAs, often in conjunction with an ASR program.  In 2018, the FCC authorized the use of fully automatic, ASR-only captioning, which is now used by all IP CTS providers for at least a portion of their captioned calls. 

The NPRM approved today seeks comment on the proposed compensation plan, along with other issues, including: identifying costs attributable to ASR-only captioning; adjusting certain recoverable-cost criteria; setting the duration of the compensation period; and making mid-period adjustments for inflation and productivity.

Comments and reply comments will be due thirty days and sixty days, respectively, after publication of the adopted NPRM in the Federal Register. 

Action by the Commission December 21, 2022 by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration (FCC 22-97).  Chairwoman Rosenworcel, Commissioners Carr, Starks, and Simington approving.  Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Starks issuing separate statements.

CG Docket Nos. 22-408, 03-123, 13-24

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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. Cir. 1974).