relay services in uk – the consumer perspective
TRANSCRIPT
A foot in both camps A consumer perspective of UK & USA
Telecommunication Relay Services
David Rose, MA - Consultant: Deaf and Disability MattersEmail address: [email protected] Conference, Geneva, SwitzerlandNov 25th, 2011 ©
A consumer perspective
10 years visiting USA from UK Different pace of development of
relay services in USA & UK Standards Funding
USA Telecommunication Relay Services
Iphone relay
Video relay services
Captioned Telephone
Such sophistication! What a choice!
Make a CapTel Call via the Web or Mobile Device!
• Free Sprint Wireless Captel App provides word-for-word captions for your wireless device
Telephone Numbers for Relay Users - USA
All deaf and hard of hearing
users have a 10 digit telephone number
Allows hearing people to call directly to deaf people easily
Allows deaf job seekers to list an actual phone number on their CVs, etc
Video relay services in USA
• Started in 2002• Due to competition, rapidly
developed• High performance standards • Wide range of products to suit deaf
customers
Relay Conference Captioning - USA
Allows deaf people to
participate in conference calls
Captioned Telephone
- similar to a voice carryover relay service in near real-time captions
Specialised Telecommunications Assistance Programs
Relay Services in USA & UK
In USA, 25 Relay Service companies with multiple services such as web, traditional, and video (5 are deaf-led companies). All funded by FCC TRF
In UK, there are 3 VRS providers:
o Sign Video: deaf-led social enterprise o Sign On Screen – Deaf Connections, charityo Sign-Now, private company
BUT…………………..
What do we have now in UK (or not……) ?
o We dial 16 digits number to call via Text Relay
- Hearing people get confused….
o Relay Conferencing Captioning
- We don’t have it ….
o Captioned Telephone (CapTel)
- It stopped 4 years ago…..no funding available
And….
o VRS services are not available 24/7/356
o VRS is limited to those with Access to Work budgets or those can afford to pay
o No healthy competition in the marketplace to provide top-notch services
Numbers in UK? 100,000 BSL users 9 million are hard of
hearing
Are they getting a good relay telecommunication service now?
The answer is NOT YET….
What we as consumerscan do about it?
Deaf Access to Alternative Relay Telecommunications (DAART) – a new consumer group set up in September 2010 - for equal access & to complement TAG
What do we want?
DAART is open to suggestions for expansion of services providing they meet the following conditions:
Sustainable long term funding
Fully functional equivalent TRS
Set up an independent Telephone Relay Fund (TRF) for management & development of a modern TRS
Contracts be a minimum of 3 – 5 years
Also…..
Services are available 24/7/365
Must keep up with technology developments
Ensure all deaf , deafened, deaf blind & hard of hearing community members can benefit
No more than the cost of normal phone call
And finally…..
0.5% funds be generated from telecom industry or by any other means
Appropriate terminal equipment to access different types of relay
services
Consumers as stakeholders must be involved in the entire process
DAART Equal Access to the Telecoms Now
You can learn more about DAART:
o Facebooko Twitterowww.daartcampaign.co.ukoMission & Campaign Policy Statements,
Response to Govt. Consultation Papers, & Consumer Views