1. TASA Advisory Committee
Presentation to the
TASA Advisory Committee
Florida Public Service Commission Staff
October 25, 2018

2. AGENDA TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018
1:30 – 1:45 Reading of Meeting Notice – Pamela Page Initial Meeting Notes – Curtis Williams Introductions – Curtis Williams Participant Appearances 1:45 – 2:15 PSC and FCC Updates - Curtis Williams and Jeff Bates 2:15 – 2:45 FTRI 2018 Annual Report - James Forstall 2:45 – 3:00 Break (if needed) 3:00 – 3:30 Sprint Relay Update – Jeff Branch 3:30 – 4:00 Discussion/Adjourn
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

3. Initial Meeting Notes
Please make sure your microphone is on when speaking…the green light should be on
Please silence your mobile devices during today’s meeting
Please state your name before speaking so we know who is making comments for the record
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

4. TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018 Tom D’Angelo
Florida Association of the Deaf, Inc.
128 Bay Bridge Drive
St. Augustine Beach, FL 32080
(904) (Voice)
Elizabeth Bradin CenturyLink 315 S. Calhoun St. Suite 500 Tallahassee, FL (850) (Voice)
Margaret (Peggy) Brown
Regional Executive Director
Center for Hearing and Communication
2900 West Cypress Creek Blvd,
Suite 3
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) , Ext. 301 (Office)
(954) (Cell)
Rick Kottler
Executive Director
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
Of the Treasure Coast, Inc.
1016 NE Jensen Beach Blvd.
Jensen Beach, FL 34957
(772) (Voice)
(772) (Fax)
Cheryl Rhodes Florida Deaf/Blind Association 500 Northfield Lane The Villages, FL (352) (VP & Voice)
Maryrose Sirianni
BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., d/b/a AT&T Florida 150 South Monroe Street Suite 400 Tallahassee, Florida (850) (Voice) (850) (Fax)
Timothy D. Wata
12514 Cragside Lane
Windermere, FL 34786
(407) (Voice)
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

5. PSC Contacts TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018
Curtis Williams, Regulatory Analyst IV
Office of Industry Development and Market Analysis (850) (Voice) (850) (Fax)
Jeff Bates, Research Associate
Office of Industry Development and Market Analysis
(850) (Voice)
(850) (Fax)
Pamela H. Page, Senior Attorney
Office of the General Counsel (850) (Voice) (850) (Fax)
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

6. PSC & FCC Updates since April 18, 2018 TASA Meeting
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

7. PSC Update
August 2018
The PSC approved FTRI’s 2018/2019 proposed budget with modifications
The proposed budget maintained the surcharge at $0.10 per access line
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

8. FCC Updates
The FCC recertified Florida’s Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) DA released July 16, 2018
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

9. FCC Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Notice of Inquiry
On June 8, 2018, the FCC released a Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling (Order), Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), and Notice of Inquiry (NOI) implementing reforms to Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS)
The FCC found that use of IP CTS currently represents almost 80 percent of the total minutes compensated by the FCC’s Interstate TRS Fund
The FCC has set interim IP CTS compensation rates designed to save the TRS Fund approximately $399 million over two years, to limit unnecessary IP CTS use, and improve speech-to-text automation
The FCC sought input on how to better fund, administer, and determine user eligibility for the service
The FCC is considering the role states and carriers can play in the provision of and support for IP CTS
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

10. Overview of the 2018 Relay Order, FNPRM, and NOI
Background
While most other forms of TRS have shown declining demand or relatively flat demand, IP CTS growth has been exponential
From 2011 to 2017, annual IP CTS minutes have grown from approximately 29 million to 363 million
Estimated IP CTS usage will make up about 78 percent of the total minutes compensated by the interstate TRS Fund and about 66 percent of the total interstate TRS Fund payments to TRS providers
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

11. IP CTS Compensation
The FCC reduced the IP CTS compensation rate to be more in line with providers’ average reasonable costs:
$1.75 per minute from July 2018 through June 2019
$1.58 per minute from July 2019 through June 2020
The FCC sought comment on:
The reasonableness of costs currently reported by IP CTS providers
The level of subcontractor, outreach, and marketing expenses
The use of historical vs. projected costs
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

12. Measures to Limit IP CTS Waste and Abuse
The FCC believes additional safeguards are needed:
Amend rules to prohibit IP CTS providers from linking the volume control and captioning functions of an IP CTS device or software application
Require IP CTS providers to include clear factual notifications on advertising brochures, websites, user manuals, and other informational materials
General prohibitions on providing service to users who do not need it
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

13. Restructuring the Funding of IP CTS
The FCC is considering expanding the contribution base for IP CTS to include a percentage of intrastate revenues from telecommunications carriers and VoIP service providers
The FCC sought comment on its conclusions and any other benefits or costs that would result from expanding the contribution base for IP CTS
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

14. State Role in the Administration of IP CTS
The FCC seeks further comment on whether certified state TRS programs should be allowed or required to take a more active role in the administration of IP CTS
The FCC acknowledged that state TRS programs have the expertise, skills, and on-the-ground experience to assume administrative functions for IP CTS
The FCC’s 2013 IP CTS Reform FNPRM also asked whether it would be desirable for states to take on IP CTS funding and administration
Florida’s 2013 response commented that state legislative authority would be needed to allow for a transition, and the FCC noted this in its order
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

15. Florida’s Role in Administering IP CTS
Currently, Florida has no role in administering IP CTS
Section (4)(a)(1.), Florida Statutes, states:
[The commission shall] require all local exchange telecommunications companies to impose a monthly surcharge on all local exchange telecommunications company subscribers on an individual access line basis, except that such surcharges shall not be imposed on more than 25 basic telecommunications access lines per account bill rendered
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

16. Barriers to Florida Funding IP CTS
Under the current Statutes, the TRS surcharge can only be collected from local exchange company access lines
The Florida Legislature may need to change the statute to address how the Florida Relay program is funded if the FCC mandates that states provide IP CTS
Legislative changes could take several years to implement
States don’t know the extent of the potential funding obligation
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

17. State-level Competition for IP CTS
Consumers currently have a choice of several IP CTS providers in Florida because it is regulated at the Federal level
Section (1), Florida Statute, states in pertinent part:
The telecommunications access system shall provide for the purchase of distribution of specialized telecommunications devices and the establishment of [a] statewide single provider telecommunications relay service system… (emphasis added)
Adding IP CTS to Florida’s TRS contract will:
eliminate competition for the service because there is no funding mechanism for the intrastate portion of the service for any provider other than the one under contract with the Commission
require a statutory change to allow for more than one provider
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018

18. Questions or Comments?
TASA Meeting - October 25, 2018