Sorenson opens new sign-language interpreting centers across U.S.
San Antonio Business Journal
Sorenson Communications has opened 17 new video relay service interpreting centers for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals throughout the United States, the company said Tuesday.
As part of that national expansion, Salt Lake City-based Sorenson also opened its first center in North Central San Antonio. In Texas, the company now has locations in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lubbock.
Lisa Harrison Tate, a spokeswoman for Sorenson, would not reveal exact locations for the centers because they are not open to the public. She also would not reveal the number of local employees hired because the company is privately held.
Sorenson’s service gives deaf and hearing-impaired individuals access to an American Sign Language interpreter over a Sorenson video phone, television and high-speed Internet connection.
Through the service, a deaf individual can call the video service toll free to connect with an interpreter. The interpreter then calls the person the deaf individual is seeking to reach and then relays messages back and forth between both callers.
Sorenson invested $50 million developing the video phone technology. The company is reimbursed by the Federal Communications Commission for minutes used by deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals.
The video relay service is free for the 32.5 million either deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals in America. It is also free for people who can hear properly and want to reach relatives and friends who are deaf and have signed up for the service. Sorenson has set up a toll free number (1-866-FAST-VRS) to connect to people using the service.
The company says it invested in new interpreter centers in San Antonio and Lubbock because Texas has a large deaf population. Therefore, the company could find a ready supply of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language, Tate says.
American Sign Language is the fourth most commonly used language in the United States, she adds.
Private investors founded Sorenson in 2003. The company also offers a fee-based video interpreting service for situations where an interpreter cannot be present between two individuals at the same location
To read article online, please go this link:
http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2006/08/14/daily17.html?jst=b_ln_hl
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