Idaho Telecommunications Relay Service Annual Report and Budget Order

Office of the Secretary Service Date March 25, 2026

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

2025 IDAHO TELECOMMUNICATIONS ) CASE NO. GNR-T-26-02 RELAY SERVICE (TRS) ANNUAL REPORT ) ) ORDER NO. 36983 ) )

On February 17, 2026, the Administrator (“Administrator”) of the Idaho Telecommunications Relay Service (“TRS” or “Relay”) filed the 2025 Annual Report (“Report”) and 2026 TRS Budget (“Budget”) recommendations with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”). The Administrator’s Report and upcoming Budget are submitted to the Commission annually. Based on our review of the record, the Commission now issues this Final Order accepting the Administrator’s 2025 Report, adopting the Administrator’s 2026 Budget, and maintaining the present rates of contribution to the Idaho TRS at $0.07 per local exchange carrier line and the long- distance rate of $0.001 per intrastate MTS/WATS minute.

BACKGROUND

In 1992, the Idaho Legislature established the Telecommunications Relay Service Act (“Idaho TRS Act”) in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. TRS enables citizens with hearing or speech-impairments to engage in telephone communications “in a manner functionally equivalent to that of individuals without hearing loss or speech impairments.” Idaho

Code § 61-1301.

Under the Idaho TRS Act, all telephone corporations providing local or long-distance service (not including wireless or VoIP services) must provide TRS as stated in the program and pay into the TRS Fund. Pursuant to TRS Rule 204, the Commission sets the TRS funding levels each year based upon the Annual Report. IDAPA 31.46.02.204. In 2022, the Idaho TRS went through the Request for Proposal (“RFP”) process to select a service provider. Report at 4. There is currently only one service provider for Captioned Telephone Relay Service, which is Hamilton Relay, and two providers for TRS, Hamilton Relay and T- Mobile. Id. In September 2025, the statute required the Advisory Committee of the Telephone ORDER NO. 36983 1

Industry to meet and approved a two-year extension of the contract with Hamilton Relay. The current contract is set to expire on November 30, 2027. Id.

THE 2025 REPORT

During 2025, the Administrator reported that there were 1,022 calls completed, which was an increase from 976 in 2024. Id. at 3. The usage of TRS minutes decreased by .04% or about 32 minutes to 10,386.98 minutes. Id. Caption Telephone Relay Service (“CTRS”) call volume decreased by approximately 62% in 2025. Id. However, the Speech to Speech (“STS”) and Spanish calls processed by Idaho Relay Center slightly increased over the last year. Id. The Average Speed of Answer (“ASA”) is a key performance indicator for TRS and CTRS and shows how long a call takes to be answered by a communication assistant with the goal for a call to CTRS and TRS to be answered within 10 seconds. Id. The ASA for 2025 was 100% of CTRS calls and 97.67% of TRS calls were answered in 10 seconds or less. Id. The ASA was within the contract requirements. Id. In 2025 the average monthly number of local exchange telephone lines reported increased by .0006%, from 82,136 in 2024 to 82,183 in 2025. Id. at 2. The TRS fund was supported by assessments on local exchange telephone service (residential and business) access lines and on billed intrastate long-distance minutes. Id. at 1. The Administrator reported that the total number of intrastate long-distance minutes reported by telephone companies in 2025 increased by 15% from 59,772,789 in 2024 to 69,878,570 in 2025. Id. at 2. The Administrator noted that the increase was affected due to one company submitting fifteen months of reports and payments in quarter four for 2024 and 2025. Id. There were eighty-three telecommunication companies that submitted zero activity reports for 2025. Id. The total revenues collected by the TRS fund in 2025 totaled $138,913.09. Id. at 1. Overall, local exchange services contributed $69,034.52 and MTS/WATS contributed $69,878.57. Id. In Commission Order No. 36590, the per-line and per-long-distance minute assessments for 2025 were set to $0.07 and $0.001. Id. at 5.

2025 Expenses

In 2025, the main expenses listed in the Report were for Hamilton Relay services and administrative fees and expenses. Id. at 2. The total disbursements from the TRS fund to Hamilton Relay for services used in 2025 includes $65,000.04 for digital transition outreach services and ORDER NO. 36983 2

$36,626.22 for TRS, CTRS, and STS. Id. at 2. Additionally, the fund paid a total of $39,166 for administrative fees and expenses in 2025. Id. at 4. Overall, the fund’s Q1 balance for 2025 was $48,345.49 and ending balance in Q4 was $46,244.42. Id.

Proposed 2025 Budget and Funding Recommendations

The contribution rates that were established in Order No. 36179 were $0.07 per local exchange line and $0.001 per MTS/WATS minute. Id. at 5. The Administrator recommended that the Commission maintain the current rates for 2026. Id. If the proposed rates remained the same, the 2026 revenue would approximately be $108,000 with a year end fund balance of $26,000- $30,000. Id. The 2026 projected revenue does not include the carryover of the Q4 balance of $46,244.42. Id. The estimated budget for 2026 was $124,497 and includes the payouts to Hamilton Relay and administration fees and expenses. Id. Between the carryover from 2025 and the proposed estimated revenue, the Administrator believed that the fund would be fully funded and have a positive balance at the end of 2026. Id

STAFF COMMENTS

Staff reviewed the 2025 Report and agreed with Administrator’s recommendation to maintain the $0.07 rate per local exchange carrier line and the MTS/WATS rate at $0.001 per long- distance minute. Staff Comments at 3. Staff believed that the projected revenue along with the current fund balance would be sufficient, to meet the 2026 expenses. Id.

DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS

In this Order, the Commission formally adopts the Administrator’s 2025 Report. We find the reported expenses for 2025 reasonable. Idaho citizens continue to be well served by the Administrator and the relay services provided by Hamilton. The Commission also finds that the 2026 budget projection of $124,497 to be reasonable based upon the anticipated TRS expenses in

2025.

Based upon our review of the Report and Staff’s recommendations, we find it is just and reasonable to maintain the present rates of contribution to the Idaho TRS at $0.07 per local exchange carrier line and the long-distance rate of $0.001 per intrastate MTS/WATS minute. These steps maintain a viable TRS budget to provide reliable services to Idaho customers.

ORDER NO. 36983 3

ORDER

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Commission accepts the Administrator’s 2025 Annual Report and adopts the Administrator’s budget for 2026. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the present rates of contribution to TRS at $0.07 per access line per month and the current long-distance rate at $0.001 per intrastate MTS/WATS minute remain unchanged. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the TRS Administrator shall continue to monitor expenditures, revenues, and Federal Communications Commission actions. If it appears that revenues will not cover expenditures, the TRS Administrator shall immediately notify the Commission so it may evaluate whether TRS funding levels should change. THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order about any matter decided in this Order. Within seven (7) days after any person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. Idaho Code §§ 61-626 and 62-619. DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 25 day of th March, 2026. __________________________________________ EDWARD LODGE, PRESIDENT __________________________________________ JOHN R. HAMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER __________________________________________ DAYN HARDIE, COMMISSIONER ATTEST: Monica Barrios-Sanchez Commission Secretary

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