New videophone booths installed at Gallaudet as better video relay services are mandated by FCC

From The Washington Post:

For people who are deaf or hearing-impaired and use traditional phone relay services, making a phone call to order pizza or just getting a call from a friend can be a lengthy process.

Although the arrival of video relay services has made it easier for the deaf to communicate with those who hear, Jon Mitchiner still needed almost 10 minutes to reach a 911 operator for an emergency at his home this year.

As precious seconds ticked away, Mitchiner said, the interpreter was confused by his home address.

"Once the confusion was cleared up, the interpreter had to look up the database to find out where my local 911 switchboard operator is located before connecting the call," Mitchiner said in an e-mail. "I was fortunate that the delay did not result in a tragic consequences."

For Mitchiner and other video relay service users, emergency assistance will soon arrive more quickly.

In September, the Federal Communications Commission ordered all video relay service providers to offer real telephone numbers and enhanced 911 features by the end of the year.

Tomorrow, students and faculty at Gallaudet University will receive four videophone booths with free video relay service from Sorenson Communications, a Utah-based video relay service provider.

The new videophones, equipped with enhanced 911 features and a 10-digit local phone number, will be at the student academic center on the school's campus at 800 Florida Ave. NE.

"It took 130 years, but now they have something functionally equivalent to a telephone," said Pat Nola, chief executive officer of Sorenson Communications, adding, "911 service needed to be offered to the deaf community."

Video relay service allows people who use sign language to make and receive phone calls by signing instead of typing. With VRS, an interpreter uses a webcam or videophone to translate the deaf person's signs to the hearing person and sign the hearing person's words to the deaf person.

Enhanced 911 is a feature that allows an emergency dispatcher to verify the caller's address through the 10-digit phone number when the caller dials 911.

VRS users did not have 10-digit phone numbers, and VRS providers, who might be outside a caller's jurisdiction, had to call local emergency call centers with as much information as possible to ensure the user received the necessary assistance.

The use of 10-digit numbers will also help VRS users receive phone calls. Someone trying to reach a VRS or traditional relay user had to use two telephone numbers: The first number was to dial the relay service, and the second belonged to the relay user.

With the enhanced features, a caller can reach a VRS user directly when a call is made to the phone number. An interpreter answers the call and serves as a go-between for both users.

Robert Weinstock, special assistant to the provost at Gallaudet University, said using two phone numbers required lengthy explanations that often led to errors.

"This is very nice just to give one phone number," Weinstock said. "It allows us to be more independent and autonomous."