* Spanish: http://www.viable.net/company/release/2009/2/9/2
* English: http://www.viable.net/company/release/2009/2/9/1
Contact: Glenn Lockhart
Viable Inc.
Tel: 240.292.0222 x227
Fax: 301.230.2442
www.viable.net
Yosbel Buscaron
Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf
Tel: 866.206.9005
www.icsdeaf.com
Viable Launches Trilingual Service for ViableVRS Users and Spanish
Speakers
Rockville, MD – February 9, 2009 – Viable, a deaf-owned provider
of video relay services (VRS) for deaf and hard of hearing people, is
pleased to announce Spanish language capability for ViableVRS users
who want to communicate with family and friends who speak Spanish.
(Lea este mensaje en Español.)
In a VRS call, deaf and hard of hearing people who communicate in
sign language use video technology to connect to an interpreter, who
will dial out to another party then interpret their phone
conversation. No special equipment is needed on the hearing person’s
end. With ViableVRS, the service is open 24 hours a day, seven days a
week and all calls are free to or from anywhere in the world, as long
as one of the calling parties is in the United States.
The Spanish language offering is made possible through a partnership
with Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf (ICSDeaf), a
Miami-based sign language interpreting agency that specializes in the
trilingual market. “We are proud to partner with Viable in unveiling
trilingual VRS,” said ICSDeaf co-owner Yosbel Buscaron, who was born
in Havana, Cuba. “ICSDeaf and Viable share much in common; we both are
young, minority-owned companies with a deep passion and commitment to
communication access and community empowerment. Our core values and
service philosophy are a perfect fit, and we look forward to providing
top-notch trilingual VRS.”
ViableVRS had a soft launch on November 1 and John Paul Jebian, a
deaf man from Venezuela who lives in Miami and has two kids with his
Spanish-speaking wife Maribel, has been using ViableVRS. “To
communicate with my wife is very important. When my son was sick at
home, I was able to call my wife. ViableVRS has also helped me
communicate with my parents and my mother-in-law.”
“At first my wife and my parents did not know what VRS was so I
explained it to them and they were shocked that I have a way of
communication that is equal to others. With ViableVRS, it is easy for
me to use sign language interpreters who can translate between sign
language and Spanish. I can communicate with hearing people!”
“There is a need to provide VRS to Hispanics who speak only Spanish
to connect with those in their lives who are deaf or hard of hearing
and communicate primarily in sign language,” said John T.C. Yeh, who
is deaf and the president of Viable. “Trilingual service via ViableVRS
provides those deaf and hard of hearing people with convenient
communication access to Spanish-speaking people both nationally and
abroad, at home and at work.”
Spanish speakers who are hearing can reach deaf and hard of hearing
people by calling them directly at their Viable Number, a ten-digit
phone number administered by Viable. Their call will automatically
route through ViableVRS and they need only to say “Español” or
“Spanish” to be transferred to a trilingual interpreter who will
complete the call and relay the phone conversation.
Deaf and hard of hearing people have convenient options for calling
Spanish speakers through ViableVRS. They can dial sp.viablevrs.tv:
* Via Viable Vision, a VRS software application for PC users
developed by Viable
* Via the VPAD, a videophone hardware developed by Viable
* Via any videophone
* Via XMeeting for Mac users
More information is available in both Spanish and English at
www.viable.net/vrs/spanish
# # #
About Viable, Inc.
Viable develops videophones and provides next-generation video relay
services for deaf and hard of hearing persons, opening them to a world
of communication possibilities. Founded in 2006, Viable is a private,
deaf-owned company, and many employees are deaf and hard of hearing
and are personally vested in the innovation and development of the
company’s products and services. Visit www.viable.net for further
information.
About Innovative Communication Services for the Deaf
ICSDeaf is Latino-owned and Latino-operated, and has provided sign
language and translation services with a trilingual market specialty
since 2006. Based in Miami, ICSDeaf has a nationwide network of
trilingual interpreters and operates nationally. Please visit
www.icsdeaf.com to learn more about ICSDeaf.
About Telecommunications Relay Services
Mandated by Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
telecommunications relay services (TRS) enables individuals with
hearing or speech disabilities to achieve functional equivalence by
accessing telephone systems to place or receive calls through an
intermediary known as a relay operator or relay interpreter. Emergent
IP technology has given rise to video-based solutions, which are known
as video relay services (VRS). VRS options include using a webcam or a
videophone to connect to a video relay interpreter, and allow deaf and
hard of hearing callers for whom sign language is native to fully
achieve the ideal of functional equivalence.