Internet-based relay services don’t have to file waiver...

Internet-based relay services don’t have to file waiver status reports by April 16, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said in an order Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1p7DS2k). The reports would have detailed their progress in meeting the existing waived mandatory minimum telecom relay service (TRS) standards. “The Commission currently is considering action that would make permanent exemptions to certain TRS mandatory minimum standards,” wrote acting Chief Kris Monteith. “It is unlikely that this proceeding will be concluded prior to the April 16, 2014 filing deadline for the annual reports. Given that the Commission is in the midst of conducting this review, we find that requiring [Video Relay Service] and IP Relay providers to file new status reports this year -- which are, at least in large part, expected to repeat what has been reported to the Commission on multiple prior occasions, as has been the case in prior years’ reports -- would serve little purpose and impose an unnecessary burden on the providers at this time."