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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Telecommunications  Relay  Services  and  Speech-  to-  Speech  Services  for  Individuals  with  Hearing  and  Speech  Disabilities,  Order  (CC  Docket  No.  98-  67,  CG  Docket  No.  03-  123). 
 Through  this  Order,  the  Commission  adopts  compensation  rates  for  the  critical  services  supported  through  the  Telecommunications  Relay  Service  (TRS)  Fund.  These  relay  services 
 serve  as  vital  connections  for  and  to  millions  of  hearing-  impaired  and  speech-  impaired  Americans.  Without  federal  and  state  TRS  services,  these  citizens  would  be  left  out  of  the  vital 
 communications  networks  that  link  our  economy  and  society. 
 I  support  this  Order  because  it  adopts  reasonable  compensation  rates  for  the  traditional  TRS,  IP  Relay  Services,  and  Video  Relay  Services  (VRS).  Calculating  the  compensation  rate  for 
 VRS,  which  is  an  increasingly  important  tool,  proved  particularly  difficult  this  year  because  certain  key  VRS  rules  are  in  flux.  I  am  pleased  that  the  Commission  was  able  to  take  into 
 account  these  open  questions  and  find  a  flexible  approach  to  address  the  compensation  of  these  services.  The  challenges  presented  here  do  underscore,  however,  the  importance  of  moving 
 forward  to  address  open  quality  of  service  issues,  such  as  the  speed  of  answer  and  interoperability,  and  our  open  proceeding  on  improving  our  rules  and  process  for  setting  the  VRS 
 compensation  rate.  I  look  forward  to  working  closely  with  my  colleagues  to  resolve  these  issues  quickly. 
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