Deaf Advocates Alarmed by 'Deterioration' in VRS Interpreting Under Rate Cuts
Advocates for the deaf and hard of hearing said they are concerned about the potential impact of ongoing compensation rate cuts on larger video relay service (VRS) providers, despite the agency's proposed temporary freeze on rates for smaller providers (see…
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1511030064). "We have seen and been alarmed by the deterioration of the quality of interpreting in VRS calls across the board, which appear to be exacerbated each time the Commission reduces the rates," said the National Association of the Deaf and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, in a filing Tuesday in docket 10-51 on a meeting with commission officials. "Any decision by the Commission to cut rates has the unintended consequence of cutting the quality of services. Instead, rates should be tied to the level of quality of services through the establishment of quality measurements." VRS provides video-connected interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate with hearing phone callers. The groups noted commission officials said they hadn't seen a significant number of complaints about VRS service quality. "As consumers unfortunately do not have confidence in the complaint process, we responded that the FCC’s continued reliance on complaints to decide what to do here is vexing, especially given the lack of private rights of action," they said. "Although we are not in a position to objectively determine specific VRS compensation rates and measure whether the rates are reasonable or not, our stance remains that VRS providers must be compensated sufficiently to improve the quality of VRS through innovation, and to adequately train and pay their interpreters."