PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT Release Date: Jan. 8, 2009
Contact: Rick Norris
CSD Communications Office
CSD Receives $1.1 Million FCC Grant to Implement Nationwide Awareness
Campaign About Transition to DTV
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Jan. 8, 2009) – Communication Service for the
Deaf, Inc. (CSD) today announced that it has been awarded a $1.1
million grant from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) using
funds that were appropriated by Congress last year for DTV outreach.
The grant will be used to launch a national awareness campaign about
the country’s transition to digital television (DTV).
On Feb. 17 of this year, America’s entire television network
infrastructure will transition to a digitally based broadcast signal.
Unless a digital converter box is obtained and installed, over-the-air
analog viewers will not be able to receive a television signal.
Congress has encouraged broadcasters and the FCC to implement massive
awareness campaigns to better educate the public about this upcoming
change. It is expected that millions of Americans will be contacting
information centers for more details. CSD is one of 12 recently
identified organizations to help with outreach efforts and technical
assistance.
“We are delighted to receive this award from the FCC and are very
enthusiastic about developing an educational awareness initiative for
citizens all across the nation,” stated Benjamin J. Soukup, CSD
president and chief executive officer. “We are also pleased that
special attention is being given to key population groups–minorities,
senior citizens, the disabled, and others–which are otherwise
overlooked. Sensitivity to equal access and equal accommodations is
something we have staunchly advocated for and the funding of projects
like this is most definitely a move in the right direction. We look
forward to other future opportunities just like this one to ensure
that all citizens–including those who may be deaf or hard of
hearing–have equal access to information and communication when
important announcements like this one must be made.”
CSD will immediately create and release deaf oriented PSAs,
disseminate educational materials, conduct seminars, answer calls from
an established call center, help viewers get and install DTV-to-analog
converter boxes, educate consumers about the use of DTV closed
captioning services, provide technical assistance, and more. Within
weeks, deaf and hard of hearing consumers will be able to contact
CSD’s Help Center via regular voice phone service or by using
videophones, the Web, IM Chat, Relay Services, IP Relay, Voice Carry
Over, Captioned Telephone (Cap-Tel), Video Relay Services and Spanish
Video Relay Services to make inquiries.
The duration of this project is expected to last throughout the next
six months and CSD hopes to aggressively work with several other
national groups and organizations such as the Hearing Loss Association
of America, the National Association of the Deaf, Telecommunications
for the Deaf, Inc., Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program
Association, and many, many others to reach America’s 28 million deaf
and hard of hearing people. For more information and updates in the
weeks ahead, please be sure to visit the CSD Web site at
www.c-s-d.org.
About CSD — CSD (a.k.a. Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc.)
was established in 1975, primarily to provide sign language
interpreting services to deaf and hard of hearing adults in South
Dakota. Today, CSD employs over 1,500 individuals in offices across
the nation, providing a broad continuum of social and human services
programs, as well as telecommunications relay services. CSD is a
private nonprofit agency dedicated to providing quality services;
ensuring public accessibility; and increasing awareness of issues
affecting the deaf, hard of hearing and individuals with speech
disabilities. For more information, please visit www.c-s-d.org.
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