national Call for Action: We Need Your Help!! [ALERT] !!!!

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National Memorandum

CALL FOR ACTION: VRS Alert #2 Date: July 21, 2004

To: Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened Consumer Advocates
United States of America

From: Consumer Organizations:

Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA),

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
(CCASDHH);

National Association of the Deaf (NAD);

Deaf & Hard of Hearing in Government (DHHIG);

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN);

Self-Help for the Hard of Hearing (SHHH);

Telecommunications for the Deaf - International (TDI);

& SBG-Gallaudet.

RE: Recruiting People to Sign the National VRS Petition to Mandate
VRS!

For immediate distribution: Request for ALL Deaf, Hard of Hearing, &
Late-Deafened Individuals, Persons with Disabilities, Sign Language
Interpreters; ALL Taxpayers, and Ratepayers; who would like for the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate Video Relay Service
(VRS). Please join this Consumer Action today!

This online "Consumer Action Protest" by way of a web-based Petition is
currently circulated nationwide. The opening statement on the weblink
explains to those who support mandating VRS to sign underneath a
preamble, which is a general comment stating this support and why (the
"preamble" is provided in written text and in video) . This effort is in
response to the FCC's question (***) in its new order, Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). The FCC is seeking public comment on
various matters concerning IP Relay and VRS, including:

1) The appropriate cost recovery methodology for VRS;

2) Whether the Commission should shift responsibility to each
state to fund this service, or whether
funding should remain with the federal level, and/or both;

3) The treatment of VRS relay costs for reimbursement from the federal
fund;

4) ***Whether VRS should become mandatory Telephone Relay Service
(Telephone Relay Service);

5) Whether VRS should be required to be offered 7 days a week, 24 hours
a day; and

6) Whether a "speed of answer" rule should be applied to VRS.

ALL of the assurances about Quality of service provided is equally tied
to rates per minute charged, can be done properly ONLY if the FCC
mandates VRS!!! It's time to make this happen and wake up the FCC!

To SUPPORT this effort:

1. Go to Petition webpage address: http://64.6.180.168/petition/. Sign
on the petition using a valid email address!

Make sure you confirm your signature by responding to an email
requesting this confirmation when you check your e-mail shortly
after you sign on!

Please forward this email to friends, families, co-workers,
neighborhoods, schools, businesses, interpreters, disabled networks,
etc. We need YOU, the Consumer Advocate: help us get the word out and
recruit more signatures!!!

2. If you know individuals in your state who wish to support this
Petition but currently do not have an e-mail address, please print the
attachment below, and circulate to your community for hand-written
signatures.

When completed, mail to:
Sheri A. Farinha, Consumer Advocate, California
4708 Roseville Rd, Suite 111
North Highlands, CA 95660

(email address: SFarinha@norcalcenter.org)

Deadline Extended to: August 20, 2004

(After this deadline, we will officially file this Petition with all
the signatures with the FCC. We will also send a copy to Congress).
 
I went to the link and read the petition.

I have a couple questions first.

1. Exactly how would the VRS program be funded? Would it be funded like Relay, thru a tax that is added to everyone's phone bill? Or is there another source of money?

2. In reference to this section:
"(1) on demand service available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day... (4) competent interpreters...."
Are there enough competent interpreters available to meet these requirements?

3. A personal question. Have you used VRS? Do you like it? Does the service satisfy you, or does it need improvements?
 
Reba said:
I went to the link and read the petition.

I have a couple questions first.

1. Exactly how would the VRS program be funded? Would it be funded like Relay, thru a tax that is added to everyone's phone bill? Or is there another source of money?
Click to expand...

It's covered by a fund already in existence with the federal government. I don't know how it's supplemented, but it's there. I believe it's called NECA.

Reba said:
2. In reference to this section:
"(1) on demand service available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day... (4) competent interpreters...."
Are there enough competent interpreters available to meet these requirements?
Click to expand...

There are enough -- but there needs to be enough funds to pay for the number of interpreters required to have 24 hours of service.

Reba said:
3. A personal question. Have you used VRS? Do you like it? Does the service satisfy you, or does it need improvements?
Click to expand...

VRS is great! It always needs improvements such as video quality, interpreter training, and speed of service, but overall, an important service!
 
My sister has VRS and she LOVES it to death! :lol: Sure wish it were available in Australia -- hopefully soon! :thumb:
 
Dennis said:
It's covered by a fund already in existence with the federal government. I don't know how it's supplemented, but it's there. I believe it's called NECA.

There are enough -- but there needs to be enough funds to pay for the number of interpreters required to have 24 hours of service.

VRS is great! It always needs improvements such as video quality, interpreter training, and speed of service, but overall, an important service!
Click to expand...
Thank you! :)
 
The petition, the way it's written focuses the benefits of VRS to a very small population. It needs to be re-written so it benefits everybody. Thats if they were going to go beyond the 6,000 mark out of over 30 million Americans with hearing disabilities.

Richard
 
:werd: Sometimes, people get carried away with specific issues that are best resolved in specific ways instead of going out and creating some petition for it.
 
Video cost

video is a HUGE cost over voice or TTY relay.

Plus you'd need ASL interpreters not just text to voice interpreters which is also more money.

Maybe just get all of your friend to get video chat and teach them ASL!

-John
 
Nesmuth said:
The petition, the way it's written focuses the benefits of VRS to a very small population. It needs to be re-written so it benefits everybody. Thats if they were going to go beyond the 6,000 mark out of over 30 million Americans with hearing disabilities.

Richard
Click to expand...

What?! How the heck do you figure this? Only 6000 deaf know sign in the U.S.? Come on, man, try 3 million, AT LEAST.

And that's not counting the benefits for people who only know how to read signs with supporting facial expressions, but aren't proficient in actually signing for themselves. That means they could use VCO, voicing for themselves to the caller, but ask the interpreter to mouth what the caller says, no signing.

video is a HUGE cost over voice or TTY relay.

Plus you'd need ASL interpreters not just text to voice interpreters which is also more money.

Maybe just get all of your friend to get video chat and teach them ASL!
Click to expand...

Your statement makes no sense. Video by itself only costs more when you figure in the cost for bandwidth. Since the trend is moving towards fiber optics / wireless / broadband and move away from copper wiring / telephone, broadband is getting cheaper and cheaper by the month. I will wager that very soon that the POTS (plain old telephone system) will go to do-do land in the U.S., left only in the most remote reaches of the country.

However, your statement about ASL interpreters being more expensive than text relay operators is probably correct. My friends earn a lot of money per hour for interpreting, but text relay probably earns just as much as a telemarketer does, essentially reading from a "script" to a caller and typing in responses back into a computer. Telemarketers are cheap and a dime a dozen :)
 
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