Telecomm Shopping for the Millennium
Regular readers know that I'm trying hard to keep up with all the
technical developments related to hearing loss. For that reason I was
gratified to see an ALDACON workshop entitled "Telecom Shopping for
the Millennium". Patti Bannier of Hamilton Relay did a great job of
explaining many of the intricacies related to telephone systems and the
relay.
The first part of Patti's workshop described some of the available
telephone features and how they relate to the relay. This topic will be
discussed in Part 1 of this article. Part 2, which will be presented
next week, will focus on more general relay topics.
The features discussed in Part 1 are offered by local telephone
companies, who determine their pricing and availability. Please contact
your local telephone company for the specifics of these features in your
area.
Part 1
Caller ID
Caller ID allows a person receiving a phone call to know who is
making the call. A box provided by the phone company displays the phone
number of the person making the call and possibly the person's name. The
name is provided only if the caller ID box supports that feature and the
incoming phone call contains that information. Caller ID costs between
$5 and $15 per month.
While caller ID may be great for hearing customers, it doesn't
currently work very well with relay. The major problem is that the
incoming call is identified as originating with the relay service rather
than with the person who is using the relay provider to make a call. It
is technically feasible to provide the number (and name) of the person
originating the call. The availability of this capability (called True
Caller ID) requires that it be specified in the contract between the
state and the relay provider. Patti is unaware of any relay services
that currently provide this feature.
Call Forwarding
Call Forwarding allows a phone company customer to forward his calls
to another phone number. If a person is expecting an important phone
call and will be away from his phone, he is able to redirect his phone
calls to the number he will be at. Note that if the number to which he
forwards his calls is a long distance call for him, he pays the long
distance charges (for the forwarded call), not the person who originated
the call. This feature costs between $3 and $10 a month, and works well
with the relay service.
Three Way Calling
Three Way Calling allows a user to add an additional person to an
existing phone call. This feature costs between $3 and $10 a month. It
is possible to use this feature through the relay, but TTY etiquette is
critically important for a successful call. And etiquette beyond what is
customary for a two-person phone call is required. One obvious
requirement is that a person identifies himself each time he types. The
other parties to the call have no other way of knowing which person is
"talking".
A more difficult problem is that of turn taking. When one person
finishes typing, both of the other participants might start typing at
the same time, which would lead to TTY gibberish. To prevent this, some
turn taking mechanism must be worked out at the beginning of the call.
One possibility is turn rotation that remains fixed throughout the
conversation. A is followed by B, who is followed by C, who is followed
by A. Another possibility is for the person who is concluding her
comment to indicate who should "talk" next.
Note that these issues are not specific to the relay, but rather
related to the use of TTYs. The same problems occur if three TTY users
are engaged in a 3-way call without the use of the relay.
Distinctive Ringing
Distinctive Ringing is a system that allows a single phone line to be
accessed using multiple phone numbers. Each number has a distinctive
ring. People sharing a phone would have unique numbers, and people would
know whom the phone call is for by the ring pattern. This feature is
becoming increasingly popular, and is particularly attractive for
households that contain both TTY and voice phone users. It costs between
$5 and $15 a month.
Toll Restrictions
Toll Restrictions provides the capability to block toll calls from a
phone. The user can specify a general block, which blocks all toll
calls, or she can allow calls to specified phone numbers. This feature
is relay-compatible, but the user must be sure to tell her relay
provider what her blocking policy is. (This step is required because the
relay provider does not have access to the policy you establish with
your local phone service.)
900/976 Blocks
900/976 Blocks allows a user to prevent calls to pay-per-call
services. This feature works well with the relay, but the user must keep
the relay provider informed regarding her policy. (See the Toll
Restrictions comment regarding the reason for this requirement.)
Long Distance and Local "Freezes"
Long Distance and Local "Freezes" provide a mechanism for
users to prevent either long distance or local slamming. (Slamming is
the practice of changing your service provider - either long distance or
local - without your consent.) These changes can be enacted by another
provider who claims to have your authorization to do so. Applying the
appropriate freeze prevents this possibility by preventing a service
provider change unless the request comes from the user.
A telephone user must keep her relay provider informed of her choice
of long distance provider. Only direct user request will cause a relay
provider to change a user's long distance provider. This prevents
unauthorized provider changes with regard to the relay, but does require
additional customer vigilance to keep the relay provider informed.
Optional Calling Plans
Optional Calling Plans allow a user to call a larger geographical
area at the local call rate. The monthly fee depends on the size of the
enhanced local call area. This is a good feature for people who place
frequent calls outside their standard local calling area. This feature
is relay-compatible, but the user must inform the relay provider of his
calling plan in order to ensure appropriate billing.
Part 2
Selecting a Long Distance Company
The relay service for a particular state is generally affiliated with
one of the major long distance providers. If a customer does not specify
a long distance provider to be used for their calls, the relay's default
provider will be used. In this case, the cost of long distance service
is in accordance with the contract between the state and the relay
provider. Many contracts include a discount for long distance calls
placed through the relay.
Note that a user may specify a different long distance company from
that affiliated with the relay service. It is up to the individual user
to compare the plan offered through the state's relay contract with
plans offered by other long distance companies. This is really an
individual decision, because costs vary significantly depending on when
calls are made, and the location of the person being called.
Once a user has selected a long distance company and plan, she should
contact the company to establish the plan. She should identify herself
as a relay user and request that relay calls and direct calls (without
the use of the relay) be billed at the same rate. Finally, she should
inform her relay provider of her long distance carrier of choice.
Note that you may also use a prepaid calling card through the relay.
To do so, you simply provide the relay operator with the appropriate
information to charge the call to the card. Some relay providers also
support the use of the "10-10" services; most of those that
don't currently support this capability are working to add it.
Telecomm Accessories
Using the relay to access answering machines, voice mail, and voice
menus offers special challenges. Because these accessories are timed for
hearing users, there is generally not enough time for relay users to
successfully access them. This situation can be (at least partially)
alleviated by empowering the relay operator to make some decisions.
For example, a user may ask the operator to just inform him that an
answering machine has picked up rather than type the entire message. (If
the user doesn't do this, the operator will type the entire message.
Unfortunately, by the time she finishes, the answering machine may have
hung up.)
Another example involves the use of voice menus. If the user tells
the relay operator what he wants to accomplish, the relay operator can
negotiate the voice menus to arrive at the appropriate location. If not,
the operator will try to type all the menu choices, and the voice menu
system will almost certainly time out before the user can make the
appropriate selection.
Remember that the relay operator is required to type everything he
hears, unless you give her other instructions.
711 Calling
The FCC recently issued a ruling that requires all states to provide
711 access to the relay by October 2001. This is wonderful news to
people who use the relay, because they no longer need to determine
unique relay numbers for the various states. But, issuing a ruling and
implementing the required modifications are two different things.
The relay companies seem to be able to accommodate this change quite
easily, but there may be difficulties with the local phone companies.
The problem is that there are thousands of local phone companies
throughout the country, and each of them must accommodate the new 711
access in each of their switches. Those companies with reasonably modern
switches should have little difficulty. Those with older switches may
have a harder time modifying the equipment to respond to the 711 number.
In the worst scenario, phone companies may have to replace existing
switches.
The fact that 711 relay access is already provided is several states
is encouraging, but the national implementation may not take place
without some problems.
2 Line VCO Charges
People who use 2 Line VCO know that it is expensive. A user is
required to have two telephone lines, and one of them must provide 3 Way
Calling or Conference Calling capability. It really doesn't sound like
equal access for those who choose that method of communication.
Well, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission agrees with that
perspective; it has recently ruled that the additional charges (beyond
basic telephone service) required to support 2 Line VCO will be paid by
the Universal Service Fund rather than by the consumer.
The idea that 2 Line VCO should cost no more than standard telephone
service seems to be spreading; hopefully, consumers in all states will
soon be able to choose this communications option at no additional cost.
