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   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:

   November 20, 2012 Mark Wigfield, 202-418-0253

   Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov

    VIDEO RELAY SERVICE PROVIDER CSDVRS TO PAY NEARLY $1.4 MILLION TO SETTLE
           INVESTIGATIONS INTO ALLEGED IMPROPER USE OF FCC'S TRS FUND

      Consent Decree Includes Compliance Plan to Prevent Future Violations

   Washington, D.C. - A provider of Video Relay Services (VRS), which are
   used by people with hearing and speech disabilities to place telephone
   calls, has agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to settle two federal
   investigations. The settlement resolves allegations of improper payments
   from the federal Fund that supports VRS, an Internet-based form of
   Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS).

         

   The 2011 investigations by the FCC's Enforcement Bureau examined whether
   the provider, CSDVRS, LLC, improperly billed the TRS Fund for VRS calls
   that were actually generated by its own employees.  Other issues in the
   investigations included whether the company routed calls through
   uncertified providers and whether a broadband application used by the
   company failed to fully transmit calls, including calls to emergency
   responders.

   In the consent decree released today, CSDVRS agreed to repay the TRS Fund
   more than $480,000 in overpayments and interest.  In addition, the company
   will make a $900,000 voluntary contribution to the U.S. Treasury.  The
   company also must implement a robust compliance plan including new
   operating procedures, comprehensive re-training of its employees and
   contractors, and periodic reporting requirements.

   "Consumers with hearing and speech disabilities rely on the TRS Fund for
   the kind of basic communications that most Americans take for granted -
   picking up the phone and calling a family member, the police department,
   or even a potential employer," said Michele Ellison, chief of the
   Enforcement Bureau.  Ms. Ellison added, "This settlement is the latest in
   the Commission's efforts to ensure the continued integrity of the Fund and
   the reliability and quality of TRS service.  We urge all TRS providers to
   take note and toe the line, as we expect strict compliance in this area."

   TRS services enable people with hearing and speech disabilities to have
   telephone conversations with hearing people worldwide using an
   interpreter.  The VRS provided by CSDVRS and others is an Internet-based
   form of TRS that enables use of American Sign Language.  Using broadband
   video over a computer or other device, the caller speaks in sign language
   to the VRS's provider's interpreter, who relays the call in real time to
   the hearing recipient.  The service has become increasingly important
   because conversations can be conducted more quickly and seamlessly than
   through traditional text-based TRS services.

   The FCC's TRS Fund compensates TRS providers for reasonable costs of
   providing service for interstate calls. TRS is funded from a fee paid for
   by subscribers of interstate telecommunications services. Congress created
   the TRS program in Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
   1990, codified at Section 225 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
   amended (Act). Under the Act, the Commission must ensure the provision of
   TRS that is functionally equivalent to voice telephone service. The
   Commission's TRS regulations set forth mandatory minimum standards that
   TRS providers must follow to meet this functional equivalency mandate.

   The consent decree is available at
   http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-12-1844A1.pdf

                                     -FCC-

       News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found

                   on the Commission's web site www.fcc.gov.

   NEWS

   Federal Communications Commission

   445 12th 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