{"id":30569,"date":"2015-04-23T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T19:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=30569"},"modified":"2015-04-23T14:00:14","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T19:00:14","slug":"fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-advocates-for-direct-video-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/04\/23\/fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-advocates-for-direct-video-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Advocates for Direct Video Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 16, 2015<\/p>\n

Shaping An Accessible World<\/p>\n

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Advocates for Direct Video Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s talk face to face, literally.<\/p>\n

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in his blog on April 14, 2016 advocating for Direct Video Communication. He’s certainly not one to simply talk the talk; he also walks the walk. FCC has an ASL hotline in where anyone whose primary language is ASL is able to call in at (844) 432-2275 and interact with someone purely via ASL, and without relying on a VRS operator to interpret the conversation.<\/p>\n

A section of his blog post couldn’t have explained it better:
\n“The bad news in this good news story is that while digital technology has opened the door to making such a call without a third party relay interpreter, that capability is very limited. Most federal agencies, for instance, don\u2019t have direct video access for those who communicate in ASL. Neither do most companies. […]<\/p>\n

Based on the success at the FCC and the advance of technology, it is now time to expand direct video calling beyond the FCC and make it available to all levels of government and companies who answer consumer inquiries. As the federal agency responsible for the communications of all Americans, the FCC is embarking on a year-long, two-part process to expand direct video connectivity for deaf, hard of hearing, and speech disabled individuals who communicate in ASL.<\/p>\n

The first step in this process is evangelizing the success of the FCC\u2019s ASL Consumer Support Line. The simultaneous second step in this process is to harness technology to make it easier for both the ASL caller and recipient to talk to each other. Building on our experience, we are constructing a \u201ccut out the middleman\u201d Video Access Platform for callers and call-takers. By this time next year we will have in the market an application usable on any fixed or mobile operating system that will bring up a list of participating agencies and companies. All an ASL-user will need to do is click or tap on who they want to talk to and the call will be connected to someone fluent in ASL. For those receiving the calls, the platform\u2019s open APIs will enable easy interoperability.<\/p>\n

After seeing what the FCC did, the Small Business Administration, to their great credit, has adopted our approach. Other federal agencies, particularly those with high call volumes, like the Social Security Administration and IRS, should consider offering direct video calling as well. The same should hold true for those companies with large numbers of customers who are deaf, hard of hearing and speech disabled. Hiring an ASL signer to respond to direct video communication from these customers makes all the sense in the world. Not only will this facilitate communication access; if the individuals hired have a disability themselves, this will also increase their employment opportunities.”
\n-Source Link: http:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/blog\/direct-video-communication-access-people-who-are-deaf-hard-hearing-and-speech-disabled-ip-world<\/a><\/p>\n

Claude Stout, TDI Executive Director, said, “FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has continued to be a champion for the disability community. We deeply appreciate his sharing of the good news that other federal agencies are considering adopting the approach the FCC has taken with its ASL call center, established there in June, 2014. This gives us deaf and hard of hearing Americans the options of calling our contacts in federal agencies, directly with their customer call centers, or via telecommunications relay services (VRS, IP-Relay or IP-CTS).”<\/p>\n

Indeed, it is now time to expand direct video calling beyond the FCC and make it available to all levels of government and companies who answer consumer inquiries. We look forward to efforts to transforming Wheeler’s vision into reality!<\/p>\n

SAVE THE DATE AND PLAN TO ATTEND TDI’s BIENNIAL CONFERENCE!!!
\nHyatt Regency Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, August 19-22, 2015<\/p>\n

Remember to mark your calendars for the 21th TDI Biennial Conference, in Baltimore, Maryland August 19-22, 2015. Hope to see you there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 16, 2015 Shaping An Accessible World FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Advocates for Direct Video Communication Let’s talk face to face, literally. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in his blog on April 14, 2016 advocating for Direct Video Communication. He’s…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[23,5765,136,342,2019,515,2777,23439,806,7699,20755,39,23438,650,61],"class_list":["post-30569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-asl","tag-claude-stout","tag-conference","tag-fcc","tag-federal-communications-commission","tag-government","tag-irs","tag-small-business-administration","tag-tdi","tag-telecommunication-for-the-deaf-inc","tag-tom-wheeler","tag-video","tag-video-access-platform","tag-video-relay-service","tag-vrs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-7X3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26162,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/02\/04\/fcc-sets-path-for-achieving-text-to-9-1-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":30569,"position":0},"title":"FCC Sets Path for Achieving Text to 9-1-1","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC Sets Path for Achieving Text to 9-1-1 On January 30, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a policy statement setting forth goals for achieving text-to-911 and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). \u00a0 The policy statement highlighted the nation\u2019s four largest wireless telephone providers\u2019 commitment to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10483,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/05\/11\/fcc-public-notice-on-new-vrs-rates-nad-to-file-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":30569,"position":1},"title":"FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"NAD E-NEWS FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments To view two-part vlog by NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins, visit http:\/\/www.nad.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/civicrm\/extern\/url.php?u=294&qid=783468 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently received video relay service (VRS) rates for July 2010 to June 2011 from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":784,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2006\/11\/17\/sorenson-communications-details-looming-vrs-interpreter-shortage-in-fcc-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":30569,"position":2},"title":"Sorenson Communications Details Looming VRS Interpreter Shortage in FCC Comments","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Sorenson Communications Details Looming VRS Interpreter Shortage in FCC Comments Sorenson Communications Advocates \u201cPrice Cap\u201d Approach to Train More Interpreters SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, in reply comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Sorenson Communications\u2122, the nation's leading provider of video relay services (VRS) and equipment for the deaf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31265,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/07\/01\/vrs-providers-express-disappointment-with-fcc-order-lowering-compensation-rates\/","url_meta":{"origin":30569,"position":3},"title":"VRS Providers Express Disappointment With FCC Order Lowering Compensation Rates","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:Jim Manley, QGA Public Affairsjmanley@qga.com \/ 202-255-3736 VIDEO RELAY SERVICE (VRS) PROVIDERS EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH FCC ORDER LOWERING COMPENSATION RATES; CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ISSUANCE OF NPRM ON JOINT PROVIDER PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE SERVICE, EXPAND OFFERINGS, AND UPHOLD ADA\u2019S PROMISE OF FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28035,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/07\/24\/fcc-to-vote-on-report-and-order-addressing-text-to-911-in-august-for-open-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":30569,"position":4},"title":"FCC to Vote on Report and Order Addressing Text-to-911 in August for Open Meeting","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC to Vote on Report and Order Addressing Text-to-911 in August for Open Meeting On August 8, 2014 the FCC will take a vote on whether to adopt new rules requiring text-to-911. 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