Telecommunications Relay Service: an industry overview including impacts and implications of recent rulemakings for consumers, managers, and policy makers

Project (M.B.A., Business Administration) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2009.The Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) industry is a unique niche industry that facilitates telephone calls for primarily for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Regulation plays a key role in this industry, and as such traditional market dynamics do not always apply. Governmental rulemakings have significant impacts on the way TRS companies create and execute strategy. This paper examines this unique industry, paying particular attention to the impacts of recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulemakings. There are two specific questions addressed in this paper. First, how has the FCC???s 2006 ruling on the interoperability of TRS equipment impacted the industry? Second, what are the potential implications of the FCC???s 2008 TRS ten-digit numbering order? Overall this paper seeks to understand how these industry shocks impact consumers, regulators, and TRS providers.\ud Data for this paper comes from publicly available materials, including FCC filings, consumer advisories, and fact sheets. Significant data was also obtained from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA). \ud In conclusion this paper finds the need for additional education of TRS consumers, and calls on consumer groups and FCC regulators to help ensure that TRS consumers understand their rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, this paper suggests strategies for TRS companies to peruse in response to the FCC???s recent TRS rulemakings. These strategies vary based on each company???s relative market share as well as the degree to which they specialize in providing TRS. Additional implications for regulators are also discussed.Business Administratio