FCC Agrees to New Relay Requirements
Editor: In a move that the hearing loss community widely applauded,
the FCC recently voted to improve the state relay services. We're also
waiting with baited breath for their pending ruling on hearing aid
compatible (HAC) wireless phones.
Here's the coverage from NVRC News. (BTW, the emphasis on Virginia is
because that's where NVRC is located. Much of what is reported also
applies to your state.)
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Thursday, May 15, 2003 was a big day for telecommunication relay
services at the Federal Communication Commission. All five of the
Commissioners voted to approve new rules for relay services such as
Virginia Relay that will make it possible for relay users to have many
new features. Among them are pass through caller ID, which enables you
to see the number of the person calling, instead of the relay phone
number, and call release, which enables a TTY user to have the relay
service withdraw from the conversation if the call is picked up by
someone else using a TTY. Other new services include such features as
call forwarding, speed dialing, 2-line Voice Carry Over, 2-line Hearing
Carry Over. Each state contracts for its relay services (Virginia's
contract is with AT&T) and state contracts will now be requiring
that the provider offer these features. If you're not familiar with
these and other helpful features which help bring relay calls much
closer to the "functional equivalency" of voice-to-voice calls
required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, just ask us. NVRC will
be happy to provide more information.
These are long overdue improvements for telecommunication relay
services that had been brought to the attention of the FCC Commissioners
on numerous occasions during the past few years. They are now official
changes to the mandatory minimum standards. Unfortunately the underlying
problem with relay service regulations still has not been addressed.
Technology changes very rapidly -- witness the introduction of Internet
Protocol (IP) relay, video relay, and CapTel, which have offered
tremendous improvement in telecommunications for deaf and hard of
hearing persons. Unfortunately these and other technology under
development must go through a lengthy process of petitioning for
reimbursement when used for relay calls, a process that requires the
providers to expend a great deal of money up front not just for product
development but also for offering free trials to show consumers the
advantages of the technology. Such a lengthy and costly process can't
help but have a chilling effect on them and other innovators who do not
have deep pockets.
The Commissioners also clarified requirements for emergency calling
through relay services and responded to a number of relay-related
petitions. The FCC issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to get
input on outreach, how relay centers are to operate in the event of a
disaster, the applicability of a number of technological advances, and
whether they should modify the eligibility criteria for providers who
seek to be reimbursed from the TRS Fund.
These new developments were particularly satisfying for NVRC, which
has been actively involved in educating the Commissioners, submitting
public comments, and working with other advocates from across the U.S.
for improved relay services. We are happy to see the issue of outreach
funding to make the public more aware of relay services, as we were
among those actively pushing for it. The Northern Virginia Community
Roundtable, a coalition of area nonprofit organizations supported by
NVRC, has already successfully fought for outreach funding in Virginia
with help from Del. Robert Marshall and VDDHH, but much more is needed.
While a recent survey showed that residents in many Northern Virginia
communities were among the most familiar in the state to know about
relay services, one can hardly shout for joy when a top score still
means about 80% of the residents are still in the dark.
We are hopeful that the FCC will also issue a ruling very soon that
will require cell telephones to be compatible with hearing aids. An
article by Jeffrey Silva of RCR on May 12, 2003 says that the FCC is
expected to rule in the next month or so on whether mobile phone
operators should be required to make digital handsets hearing aid
compatible. The article also says there are indications that the FCC is
leaning toward phasing it in. We assume this means that digital phone
handsets would be given a set time period to become accessible, an
approach they took to requiring television programs to being closed
captioned. It's high time too. Legislation was passed in 1988 that
required telephones to be hearing aid compatible. May the phase-in
period be a very short one.
"Approximately 8 million citizens have hearing aids," Silva
wrote in his article. "With mobile phones -- used by 145 million
consumers -- becoming a substitute for landline telephones, federal
regulations suddenly find themselves under pressure to deal directly
with a major domestic policy issue in America -- disability access --
which could help shape the legacy of FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
(Thanks to Karen Peltz Strauss and members of TAN)
Credit: NVRC News, Cheryl Heppner, Editor, May 17, 2003
