Sorenson Offers VRS under FCC Rules; CEO Pushes Awareness
Sorenson Communications launched its real numbers and E911 Video Relay Service at a ribbon-cutting Friday in Washington, D.C., at Gallaudet University, founded to serve deaf individuals. The move responded to an FCC order requiring all VRS providers to offer real telephone numbers and E911 services to everyone with hearing and speech disabilities by Dec. 31. Raising awareness of the importance of the services for people with disabilities should be a top priority for the new administration, Sorenson CEO Pat Nola said.
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Sorenson will offer two types of real numbers to the deaf to fulfill the FCC requirement, in addition to E911, said Ron Burdett, vice president of community relations, local 10-digit numbers and DirectVP numbers. The toll-free numbers can be used in different ways, depending on caller needs, he said. Both services, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act, are considered by the FCC “functionally-equivalent” to the way hearing callers place calls, Nola said. E911 allows an emergency dispatcher to verify the caller’s address through the 10-digit phone number when the caller dials 911. The services speed the process of identifying, connecting and transmitting the caller’s location to the emergency call center, Nola said. Burdett stressed the importance of keeping the user’s address up to date with the VRS provider.
Partnering with third parties like database firms that offer emergency center information is a key to complying with the FCC order, Nola said. Programs that include training interpreters to handle emergency calls are crucial too, he said. User education and technical maintenance and improvement are critical and will be ongoing, he said. It’s a challenge for all providers to put everything in place in a time to satisfy commission requirements, he said.
The new administration should have a clear understanding of the services for deaf communities, Nola said. The company is working with the FCC and consumer groups to seek ways to improve broadband coverage for the poor and rural deaf, he said. He supports Lifeline subsidies for broadband. The subsidies are only for phones. The company’s long term plan is putting more features into videophones for the deaf community, he said.