The Federal Communications Commission today announced a $9.1 million settlement with two companies which provide telecommunications services to consumers with hearing and speech disabilities.  In addition to a monetary penalty for improper billing, the settlement with telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers Purple Communications and CSDVRS repays the TRS Fund and establishes a 5-year compliance plan to ensure that services going forward incorporate the required checks.  

The TRS Fund reimburses telephone carriers and other providers for providing relay services to consumers with hearing and speech disabilities.  To ensure that TRS is used for its intended purpose and that providers are only compensated for service provided to eligible individuals, for some forms of TRS, providers must verify the registration information of TRS users before issuing those users the ten-digit numbers necessary to use the service.  The Commission established a clear legal standard for this verification in a 2008 order.

In December 2015, the Commission fined Purple for failing to properly verify customers and for submitting improper bills for reimbursement from the TRS Fund.  The settlement resolves that proceeding, as well as additional investigations and pending matters against the companies.  Today’s action by the Commission approves a settlement that resolves all pending enforcement matters involving Purple and CSDVRS.

Source: FCC media announcement