To deaflibrarian: Canadian Wireless Relay is a Long Way Away
Mark and I have been engaged in some email discussion of that very problem (Canadian wireless relay, and the appalling lack thereof) for some time now. I was using Hamilton Relay after I initially got the device (Bell Blackberry 6750 - $350 worth of plastic at $60 a month to me right now), thinking it was in Hamilton, Ontario. Well, the short version of the long story is, I opened my big fat yap to their customer service department, and got blocked, so now I can't send or receive calls through the relay, even though they're being really nice about it, and keeping my contact information handy so they will contact me whenever the US government decides to let Canadians use the service.
<bitter>Yeah, and I'm still waiting to make an offer on that bridge they're willing to sell me, too. </bitter>
Anyway, Mark pointed me to this forum, suggesting the MCIRelay might be a loophole I could use, but definitely not for me...let's just say, *my* friends and family (all hearing people naturally)? Not gonna call a long-distance number to reach me on a cellphone via a relay operator. It just will not happen, trust me. The relay operator is bad enough (Hey, I don't care what they think of it, it works for me, so they'll just have to suck it up, right?), but to make them call long-distance on top of it all? Mmmm, no. They would not consider that a viable alternative *at* *all*. But thanks to Mark, for still thinking of me.
What I have learned, however, subsequent to purchasing the Bell device, is that Rogers' Blackberry apparently connects just fine with Bell Relay Service, no problems. Uh-huh. I initially purchased a Blackberry through Rogers, but returned it the next day because I couldn't connect to the Bell Relay Service, and nobody at Rogers could tell me how. Finally, the exasperated clerk suggested I try Bell, since it was their relay service I was trying to connect to in the first place, right?
Right. So I switched to Bell, and ended up saving $200 on the same device. Bully for me, right? Wrong. Bell Relay Service and Bell Canada are, shall we say, not on speaking terms, to such point, that Bell Canada representatives have absolutely no idea what the Bell Relay Service even *is*, let alone how to access it with a wireless device. (Oh yes, I have had *grand* fun with Bell's customer service, these past three months.)
So, I got from another source, that there's an unpublicized wireless relay operating out of Winnipeg. After I ferreted out their name and contact info (I was told they were owned by Bell's competition and that's why they weren't advertised), I learned from them that they're the ones who actually provide the Bell Relay Service.
However (wait for it), they "don't provide Blackberry-specific relay services at this time". Whether they ever will or not, I'm still waiting to hear back on. (They never sent me a response to the reply I sent to that email.)
Anyway. That's the situation as it stands of now. I've got two years and nine-odd months left on a contract with Bell, and then I can switch to Rogers. If anybody at Rogers can even tell me how to connect with Bell Relay Service in the first place, that is. Not to mention the fact that I returned the device less than 24 hours later, and they sent me a bill for $70 worth of usage. (Needless to say, the charges were all but reversed, down to $12.08.) So, let's just say I'm not so happy with Rogers as a solution provider, either.
Additionally, the Canadian Association for the Deaf has recently "opened a discussion" (Translation: bureaucrat-speak for going nowhere fast.), with Rogers Canada, re: providing a discount on cellphones and the like to deaf, Deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafened, late-deafened (Ah, hell, pick one! Whichever you prefer.) users who have no need of the voice features, but want to use the text messaging services. I haven't received any further word than that, but I'm not holding my breath on that one, that's for sure.
(Suffice it to say that Canadian charities move slower than an object stuck in the event horizon of a black hole, when it comes to gaining access to viable solutions, for use in the real world. If you need the government to pay for an eight-year degree in Advanced Knitting and Needlework Techniques, however, they will bow, kiss your feet, and throw scads of money at you. But I digress, and am likely preaching to the choir anyway, right dl?)
Anyway. If you really really really really have to use the relay service with your Blackberry/wireless device, your last resort (according to the Technical Devices department of the Canadian Hearing Society) is purchasing a TTY and hooking it up to the thing, whereupon it will work just fine with Bell Relay Service. (I know, I know, it's not something I'm looking forward to, either, but I just might have to bite the bullet and do it.) Which means you're dealing with two keyboards, trying to keep both devices on your lap (good luck keeping them both in your hands, unless you're built like a linebacker), and connected, and typing on the TTY, when there's a perfectly usable keyboard on the mobile device. The upside to this is, if you're located in Ontario (like I am), the Assistive Devices Program will pay for a TTY for you, regardless of your employment status or income level. Ontario is unfortunately the only province with such a program (AFAIK), however.
Sorry, it's not much info, but I hope it helps!
WHoH
