Sorenson Press Release on VRS
For those who don't know, VRS stands for Video Relay Service. That's
the Deaf relay service that uses an interpreter as the communications
assistant, so that a Deaf person can sign into a camera rather than type
on a TTY, and view the interpreter signing on her monitor, rather than
having to read English on the TTY display. The claim that Deaf and hard
of hearing people use VRS perpetuates the ideas that hard of hearing
people sign, and that a sign language interpreter is an appropriate
accommodation. Here's the press release to which we object.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July
19, 2005
Sorenson
Communications Supports and is in Full Compliance with FCC's New VRS
Rulings
FCC
Announces Decisions Regarding Average Speed of Answer, Hours of
Operation, and Other Video Relay Regulatory Issues
SALT
LAKE CITY (July 15, 2005) - Sorenson Communications(tm), the leading
provider of video relay services (VRS) and equipment for the deaf and
hard-of-hearing community, today expressed its support of recent rulings
from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on several significant
VRS regulatory issues, and announced that the company is already in full
compliance with all FCC rulings and policies.
The
main FCC rulings, announced July 14, 2005, include: 1) "speed of
answer" requirements, referring to how quickly an interpreter
answers a VRS call; 2) "hours of service" requirements, which
refers to the hours of operation for a VRS service; and 3) reimbursement
funding for VRS "video mail," the VRS equivalent of voicemail,
and Spanish language VRS services.
With
regard to speed of answer, the FCC ruled that 80 percent of all VRS
calls must be answered by an interpreter within three minutes. The
Commission also advised that the speed of answer requirement will be
further shortened in the future.
"By
setting the speed of answer requirement at three minutes and gradually
phasing in shorter wait times, the FCC is recognizing the shortage of
qualified interpreters in the marketplace, and wisely balancing the
demand for VRS interpreters with that for community interpreters,"
said Pat Nola, COO of Sorenson Communications.
The
FCC also required that vendors offering VRS services to the deaf and
hard-of-hearing community must make those services available 24 hours
per day, seven days per week. Sorenson Communications has offered 24/7
VRS services since October 2004, and is currently the only VRS provider
to do so.
The
Commission also announced that it will authorize reimbursement to VRS
providers for video mail and Spanish video relay services.
VRS
video mail allows deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to receive signed
video messages from hearing callers when they are not able to answer
their videophones. Using Sorenson Communications' SignMail(tm) video
mail, a VRS interpreter translates a voice message from a hearing
person, and then records a video interpretation of that message for the
deaf or hard-of-hearing individual to view at a later time.
Sorenson
Communications, which currently operates an industry-leading 20 Sorenson
VRS interpreting centers, has offered SignMail since April 2004, and is
currently exploring the option of offering Spanish language video relay
services.
"We
applaud the FCC for its commitment to ensure that deaf and
hard-of-hearing individuals receive the highest possible level of video
relay services," said Sorenson Communications CEO James Lee
Sorenson. "The Commission's actions will greatly improve the
quality of available services and numerous individuals in the deaf and
hard-of-hearing community will benefit from these regulatory
changes."
For
more information on the FCC announcements and to view an American Sign
Language (ASL) video summary of the rulings, visit http://www.sorensonvrs.com/fcc
About
Sorenson Communications: Sorenson Communications ( http://www.sorenson.com
) is a provider of industry-leading communication offerings including
the Sorenson Video Relay Service (VRS), Sorenson IP Relay (siprelay),
and the Sorenson videophones. Sorenson VRS enables deaf and
hard-of-hearing callers to conduct video relay conversations through a
qualified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. Sorenson IP Relay
allows users to place text-based relay calls from either a mobile device
or a PC to any telephone user. The company's line of Sorenson
videophones are the only customized videophones with auto-updating
technology, which include the latest video communication features for
the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
PRESS
CONTACT David Parkinson Sorenson Communications Public Relations
801.287.9472 mailto:dparks@sorenson.com
(c)
2005 Sorenson Communications. All products and brand names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
The following email was sent to Sorenson.
July 21, 2005
Dear Mr. Parkinson:
I read with some
dismay your recent press release entitled "Sorenson Communications
Supports and is in Full Compliance with FCC's New VRS Rulings."
While I think it's wonderful that you are already in compliance with the
new ruling, your press release perpetuates misinformation that prevents
hard of hearing people from obtaining appropriate telecommunications
services.
I'm referring to
your use of the phrase "Deaf and hard of hearing" when you
really mean "Deaf".
The truth of the
matter is that over 95% of "Deaf and hard of hearing" people
are hard of hearing, and the overwhelming majority of them cannot use
VRS services because they don't sign. Your repeated claims that "Deaf
and hard of hearing" people benefit from your VRS services is
disingenuous at best, and misinforms the general public that hard of
hearing people benefit from services that are really applicable only to
Deaf folks.
Oral Hearing Loss
(OHL) Advocacy (OHLA) represents people with hearing loss whose
primary means of communication is spoken language. This includes people
who are hard of hearing, late deafened, and oral deaf. We are working to
reclaim ownership of terms that refer to our community. This includes
the term "hard of hearing", which is most often
misappropriated, as in "Deaf and hard of hearing".
People are so used
to seeing the term "Deaf and hard of hearing" that they assume
members of the two groups comprise a single group. Hard of hearing
people are not "Deaf lite" or "less deaf"; hard of
hearing people have a different disability, require different
accommodations, and comprise a separate group from Deaf people. The term
"Deaf and hard of hearing" is almost never an accurate
description of reality, and should generally be avoided.
Referring
specifically to telecommunications services for hard of hearing people,
many members of our community are very successful using amplified
telephones. For those whose hearing loss is more severe, the voice
carryover service provided by some relay services is often the
accommodation of choice. Your IP Relay service would also be extremely
useful to our community members, if they only knew about it. Sadly, the
vast majority of the hard of hearing folks who could benefit from IP
Relay services have absolutely no idea that they can use a computer
like a TTY. And from what I've seen, your outreach program is making no
attempt to inform them.
It appears that
your intended market is the Deaf community. We think that's fine, and we
encourage you to continue providing what I'm sure is outstanding service
to the Deaf community. At the same time we would very much appreciate it
if you would quit claiming to serve the "Deaf and hard of
hearing" community, because that claim perpetuates the misinformation
that hard of hearing people have access to adequate and appropriate
services.
Thank you,
Larry Sivertson
None to Date
