FCC Threatens Future of Video Relay Service!
May 11, 2010
– Sorenson Response to FCC Statement of May 10, 2010
Click here to read Sorenson Communication’s response to the FCC’s May 10th
Statement.
http://www.sorensonvrs.com/fcc_response
May 7, 2010
– VRS THREATENED BY FCC PROPOSAL
Imagine a future without Sorenson VRS (SVRS) and without a videophone. The
future of Sorenson VRS is in the hands of deaf and hard-of-hearing users
like you. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a rate
for VRS that would be the end of SVRS as we know it today.
It is not an exaggeration to say that under the proposed new FCC rate, most
VRS providers would lose money. If these rates go into effect, Sorenson VRS
will go bankrupt.
What does this mean to you?
Even if Sorenson were able to remain in business, SVRS services will change.
* Outreach programs to bring VRS to more deaf individuals will end.
* Hold times which now average less than 10 seconds will increase. You’ll
need to wait to make VRS calls.
* Interpreter training programs will decline which will lead to a shortage
of qualified interpreters for VRS and local deaf communities.
* Communication technology advancement will stop.
The deaf community must join together to let the FCC know the importance of
VRS. If VRS as we know it today is to be maintained and improved, it is
critical that the reimbursement rate for VRS providers be fair.
The VRS rate must be set to encourage VRS providers to fund:
* Outreach programs to inform more deaf individuals about VRS;
* Interpreter training programs so that there will be an adequate number of
qualified interpreters for VRS and the local deaf communities; and
* New technology to improve VRS.
Tell the FCC to support the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and not to destroy its successes. The FCC must set a fair rate to meet
the goal of functional equivalency. The only way to stop this is to let the
FCC know how disastrous its proposal for a dramatic rate cut will be for
VRS.
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