In an Order released June 28, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) adopted a new Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service (“TRS”) carrier contribution factor of 0.00585 (.585%) for the July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 funding year. This new contribution factor represents a decrease of almost 50% from the 1.1% contribution factor that applied for the 2009-2010 funding year. The reduced carrier contribution factor reflects a recommendation by the National Exchange Carrier Association (“NECA”) that the fund size be reduced based on a decreased funding need attributable to Video Relay Service. The Commission also chose to apply surplus funding from the 2009-2010 funding year to the 2010-2011 fund year instead of providing refunds to carriers as was suggested by AT&T. The Commission explained that applying the surplus to the fund would avoid the administrative burden of calculating appropriate reimbursements and monitoring whether carriers passed the reimbursements on to rate payers who might have supported the carriers’ fund contributions. The decreased contribution factor is effective with the fund year that began on July 1. Contributors should see the decrease in their next invoices from the TRS fund administrator.

Federal Communications Commission Significantly Decreases Carrier Contribution Factor for the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund