FCC Considers Mandating Captioned Telephone Relay Service

Editor: Have you noticed that we've been asking you to file a lot of comments with the FCC recently? I know some of you think doing so is a real hassle, but I can't stress enough how important it is that you take the time to do it. And I'll bet you that you can compose and file a meaningful comment in less than 15 minutes! So please, when you finish reading this article, start your stopwatch and have at it! The filing deadline is December 30!

The current notice is requesting comments on two separate, but related issues.

The first is to mandate captioned telephone relay service. States currently have the option of providing or not providing captioned telephone relay service. Roughly two-thirds of the states currently provide captioned telephone relay service (See map); this includes some states that are still conducting trials. For many people with hearing loss, the captioned telephone comes closest of the available technologies to providing service that is functionally equivalent to that provided to hearing folks. As such, it should be a required relay service.

The second issue is whether the FCC should authorize Internet Protocol (IP) captioned telephone relay service. IP refers to the fact that the communication is conducted through a computer network, rather than the traditional phone network.

TTY users were locked into a traditional TTY for years. It plugged into a standard telephone receptacle and allowed the user to communicate with the relay service over the telephone network. A few years ago the industry introduced IP Relay, which allows a user to use any computer that has an Internet connection as a TTY. (If you're not familiar with IP Relay, read this paragraph again. I run into a substantial number of fairly sophisticated relay users who have no idea they can use their home or office computer to make relay calls!) One of the beauties of IP Relay is that a person doesn't need to carry a TTY around wherever he goes.

IP captioned telephone relay service would provide the same accessibility for captioned telephone relay service. Again, because this comes closest to providing functional equivalence to people with hearing loss, it should be authorized by the FCC.

Here are instructions on how to file a comment.

OK! Enough of an introduction! Here's Cheryl Heppner of NVRC with her thoughts on this topic.

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Captioned telephone service has quickly become a preferred choice for phone communication by many people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Ultratec's CapTel is currently the only captioned telephone on the market. It offers the convenience of being able to use the CapTel phone to dial the number you want to call and speak for yourself. You can use your residual hearing to listen to the voice of the person you called, while reading a text display of what is being said with a delay of one or two seconds as backup if you do not understand the words being spoken. In addition, if you have a second telephone line, people who call you will automatically be connected to the captioning service.

Some states do not offer this service and others that offer it are limiting the number of people who are allowed to have it. NVRC believes this is a discriminatory practice; there are no such restrictions on other forms of relay service such as "traditional" TTY to voice/voice to TTY relay, IP relay, and Video Relay Service. The intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act's Title IV was to make telecommunications relay service as functionally equivalent as a call between two people who can hear. For a very large number of people with hearing loss, the captioned phone is the only option that meets this requirement.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is now considering whether to require captioned telephone service throughout the United States.

NVRC was involved in working with 13 national consumer organizations who filed a petition on October 31, 2005, with the FCC, asking them to make captioned telephone service available to any person in any state. The FCC is now seeking the public's thoughts on this petition. The Commission wants to hear whether this is something that you feel should be mandated.