1、 ATIS-0300093 NUMBERING FOR INTERNET-BASED RELAY SERVICES REPORT December 19, 2007 Copyright 2007 by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. The Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report dated December 19, 2007 is copyrighted, published and distribu
2、ted by ATIS on behalf of the Industry Numbering Committee (INC). Except as expressly permitted, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form, including electronic media or otherwise, without the prior express written permission of ATIS. Participants in the INC and other p
3、arties are hereby authorized to reproduce this document and distribute it within their own business organizations for business purposes, provided that this notice continues to appear in the reproduced documentation. Resale is prohibited. For ordering information, please contact: ATIS 1200 G Street N
4、.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 628-6380 incatis.org A complete listing of INC Documents is available on the ATIS Web Site at: http:/www.atis.org/inc/docs/.asp ATIS is the leading technical planning and standards development organization committed to the rapid development of global, market
5、-driven standards for the information, entertainment and communications industry. More than 250 companies actively formulate standards in ATIS 18 Committees, covering issues including: IPTV, Service Oriented Networks, Energy Efficiency, IP-Based and Wireless Technologies, Quality of Service, and Bil
6、ling and Operational Support. In addition, numerous Incubators, Focus and Exploratory Groups address emerging industry priorities including “Green”, IP Downloadable Security, Next Generation Carrier Interconnect, IPv6 and Convergence. ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Gen
7、eration Partnership Project (3GPP), a member and major U.S. contributor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio and Telecommunications Sectors, and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information please visit . - The Industry Numbering Commi
8、ttee (INC) provides an open forum to address and resolve industry-wide issues associated with planning, administration, allocation, assignment and use of North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbering resources within the NANP area. This document is maintained under the direction of ATIS and the INC
9、. Suggestions for improvement of this document are welcome. They should be sent to the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, INC Staff, 1200 G Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005. All changes to this document shall be made through the INC issue resolution process and adopted by
10、the INC as set forth in the ATIS Operating Procedures. - Notice of Disclaimer or 2. dialing the toll free telephone number of the hearing callers chosen VRS provider and providing the CA with the telephone number of the VRS User they wish to reach (Toll-Free Routing). The VRS provider will then set
11、up a video call between the Communications Assistant and VRS User using the Internet address associated with the VRS Users telephone number. VRS Users may reach a hearing party by originating a video call with a VRS provider of their choice and providing the to-be-called number. The centralized mech
12、anism for linking the VRS User telephone number to their IP address is not required. A VRS User may set up a video call to another VRS User using called users telephone number to determine the called partys current IP address via the centralized mechanism. (Depending on the resolution of security is
13、sues, such call set up may be direct or via the calling partys chosen VRS provider. A CA is not required.) The INC has further considered the issues of the manner in which VRS Users might obtain telephone numbers, the means for routing calls to these numbers to the VRS Users chosen VRS provider, and
14、 the nature of the centralized mechanism for associating VRS Users telephone numbers with their current IP addresses. 1 Action Item can be found in the NANC Meeting Record of January 24, 2006. 2As indicated in Section 8, the glossary, the term “VRS User” refers to the deaf user of Video Relay Servic
15、es. Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 2 The solutions offered by INC members for VRS are applicable to IP Relay. On the other hand, the INC does not recommend any changes for IP Captioned Telephone Service at this time. Numbering for Internet-Based R
16、elay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 3 2.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long promoted the availability of services to the broadest possible range of users. Through regulations promulgated in various dockets, the FCC has guided the devel
17、opment of service for users including “persons with disabilities.” Evidence of this effort can be seen, for instance, in Code of Federal Regulations Title 47 Telecommunications, Part 63and Part 644. The Industry Numbering Committee (INC), in its capacity of providing guidelines on numbering issues r
18、esponds herein regarding a numbering strategy and database approaches offered by INC members that may be used to advance the public policy objectives of the FCC. 2.1 History of TRS/VRS First instituted as a uniform nationwide system in 1993, Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) has evolved to a mu
19、ltifaceted initiative facilitating wired and wireless communications. It has long been recognized that those unable to fully hear a voice conversation can be greatly aided with sighted substitutes via interpreters. American Sign Language (ASL) is an example of a sighted substitute for the spoken wor
20、d. Typed text also acts as a substitute. Lately, developments in telecommunications and video have presented both ASL and text messaging as transmittable media for use in advancing the goals of TRS. VRS and IP Relay Service are today being delivered over the Internet. However, without standardizatio
21、n of delivery and accessibility, these services are not consistently available to the users of relay services. The FCC has, on behalf of these needs, been overseeing several VRS proceedings, including the VRS Declaratory Ruling and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (VRS FNPRM) in CG Docket No. 0
22、3-1235. 2.2 Recent Activity/Directives Seeking clarity on the relationship of VRS to numbering, the NANC was approached with a request for assistance and provided with a report6. Discussion led to an Action Item for INC to take the lead in developing a technical response/recommendation regarding the
23、 VRS numbering and interoperability issue raised during the NANC meeting. 2.3 NANC Request and Purpose of Recommendation This report represents the collective work, of the INC in an effort to provide guidance on telephone numbering issues and database scenarios regarding VRS. It has been the 3 PART
24、6-ACCESS TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND CUSTOMER PREMISES EQUIPMENT BY PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. 4 PART 64- MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS; Subpart F: Telecommunications Relay Services and Related Customer Premises Equipment for Persons With Disabil
25、ities. 5 In the Matter of Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities CG Docket No. 03-123, rel May 9, 2006; FCC 06-75. 6 See the NANC Meeting Record of January 24, 2006: Section V, Subsection L, Report by Karen Strauss: A Unif
26、orm Numbering Scheme for Video Relay Service (VRS) Users and Providers. Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 4 goal of the INC to provide recommendations where possible and options where specific recommendations did not emerge. This report represents co
27、llective efforts of several service providers and vendors, including VRS providers that chose to join ATIS and participate in the work of the INCs VoIP Subcommittee. Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 5 3.0 ASSUMPTIONS AND GOALS 3.1 Objectives no CA a
28、dded). 7 North American Numbering Council Meeting Minutes January 24, 2006 (Final) 8 Ibid 9 Ibid 10 The use of “customer equipment” or “user equipment” also is intended to include stand alone software running on a personal computer. See Section 8, glossary for other synonyms used for “customer equip
29、ment” in this report. Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 6 VRS Users must be able to change their incoming and/or outgoing VRS provider of choice.11In the FCC Declaratory Ruling and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on May 9, 2006, the FCC stated:
30、 “All VRS consumers should be able to place a VRS call through any of the VRS providers service, and all VRS providers should be able to receive calls from, and make calls to, any VRS consumer.”12From this direction, INC has adopted the goal of supporting the following additional scenarios: Hearing
31、to Deaf Calls A hearing person dials the toll free TN of a VRS provider; upon reaching an interpreter, the hearing person tells the VRS provider which ten-digit TN to call. The call then is set up to the deaf user. Deaf to Hearing Calls A deaf person contacts a VRS provider, which initiates a call;
32、the VRS provider uses a TN to set up a call with the hearing person. One resulting notable requirement is that: Any VRS User can be called by any other VRS User or by any VRS provider using the TN of the called VRS User, instead of requiring the IP address of the called VRS User. This document will
33、address other forms of Internet-based relay in addition to VRS (See Section 3.3.2). The INC will address numbering for VRS and for IP Relay separately, but has not addressed integration of the two services under a single telephone number. 3.2 Number Allocation, Assignment, Functionality In the conte
34、xt of this report, a telephone number is a unique End User identifier. While basic PSTN routing uses the digits of the telephone number, that number often serves just as an identifier which is mapped to a different number such as, a Location Routing Number (LRN) for Local Number Portability (LNP), o
35、r to an SS7 destination point code (DPC) for enhanced services like calling name display. Additionally, TNs are being used to send messages to Internet enabled devices. When one person sends a mobile text message to another person, they send the text message to a TN, but the network that carries tha
36、t text message is an IP network. Since an IP network cannot use TNs for routing, mapping to an IP address allows the text message to properly transmit to the desired recipient. The Internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to map identifiers (domain names such as atis.org or fcc.gov) to the appropr
37、iate IP addresses for communication. 11This does not imply that VRS users do or do not have the ability to change their provider of choice on a call by call basis.12 FCCs Declaratory Ruling and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking In the Matter of Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Spe
38、ech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Impairment, CG Docket No. 03-123, p. 1, para. 1 Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 7 The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed a protocol called ENUM to define how to map a TN to avai
39、lable services an End User associates with that number (User ENUM) or to a point of interconnection with a serving carrier (Infrastructure ENUM). ENUM achieves this by first converting the TN into a domain name and then using the DNS to map the domain name into a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) (e
40、.g.,sip:). URIs have the advantage of being relatively static, changing rarely, while IP addresses can be dynamic, changing frequently. Other DNS queries are required to resolve the URI to an IP address. Numbers may be assigned to VRS Users in a number of ways, as discussed in Section 4: Numbers may
41、 be directly allocated to VRS service providers by NANPA or the Pooling Administrator (PA). The VRS service provider would in turn assign them to VRS Users. VRS service providers might obtain numbers from existing voice service providers and in turn assign them to VRS Users. VRS service providers mi
42、ght obtain numbers from some neutral third party and in turn assign them to VRS Users. VRS Users could obtain numbers directly from voice service providers and arrange for routing to their chosen VRS provider. VRS Users might obtain numbers directly from a neutral third party. VRS service providers
43、might act as agents for VRS Users to obtain numbers from existing voice service providers. Since VRS Users are spread throughout the United States and most will desire a local number, numbers will be required from a large number of rate centers. VRS providers (VRS providers operations and CA locatio
44、n), in contrast, may serve the entire customer set from only a few or even a single location. The small number of VRS Users per end office may not warrant dedicated facilities from each end office to the serving relay center. Two approaches to routing calls to relay centers are as follows: 3.2.1 PST
45、N Transport via Call Forwarding VRS User numbers could be call forwarded to the serving relay center. Call Forwarding is a pervasively deployed central office feature that allows use of existing PSTN routing and shared facilities. If the forwarded-to number is a toll free number, transport charges c
46、an be billed to the receiving VRS provider for recovery from the Interstate TRS Fund rather than requiring the VRS User to apply for reimbursement. Moreover, toll free service can provide advanced call management features to help VRS provider load balance traffic and maintain high call completion. W
47、here call forwarding is employed signaling from the end office to the VRS provider must support delivery of the Redirecting Number parameter so the VRS provider can determine the VRS User being called. 3.2.2 VoIP Transport If VRS telephone numbers are obtained from VoIP service providers, then after
48、 the call has been delivered to the VoIP service providers PSTN point of interconnection, the call delivery to the relay center could be via IP with IP-based routing and signaling techniques. Numbering for Internet-Based Relay Services Report (ATIS-0300093) December 19, 2007 8 3.3 Relay Number it simply means the relay provider uses IP technology for establishing the connection via the Relay Users Internet connection. Most importantly, a relay provider uses IP naming and addressing protocols. IP networks us
