Early on during the COVID-19 pandemic, in March, 2020, the FCC took action to ensure that TRS services would continue to be available to people with hearing loss. These waivers allow TRS providers flexibility to deal with reduced staffing and increased call volumes, to enable more of their employees to provide services from their homes, to expand the pool of contractors qualified to provide American Sign Language interpretation services for Video Relay Service (VRS), and to allow registered VRS users who are abroad to make calls to the U.S. during the national emergency.
On February 18, 2021, the FCC released an Order extending temporary waivers through August 31, 2021 for telecommunications relay services (TRS) providers to ensure relay services remain available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Registered users of TRS services may send the FCC any complaints about the service by visiting FCC Complaints
Order:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/trs-covid-19-waivers-extended-through-august-31-2021
Word: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-195A1.docx
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-195A1.pdf
Text: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-195A1.txt
General information on TRS is available at https://www.fcc.gov/trs. For further information, please contact Halie Peacher, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-0514, or Halie.Peacher@fcc.gov. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).