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A Video Relay Service (VRS) is a telecommunication service that allows Deaf , Hard Of Hearing and speech-disabled individuals to communicate over the phone with hearing people in real-time, using a sign language interpreter. In America, the service is regulated by the FCC . HOW IT WORKS #An individual who communicates by American Sign Language , or another mode of Manual Communication , such as Signing Exact English , Pidgin Signed English , Linguistics of Visual English, uses a Videophone or other video device, such as a Webcam , to connect via broadband Internet to a Video Relay Service. #The caller is routed to a sign language Interpreter , known as a Video Interpreter (VI). The VI is in front of a camera or videophone. #The video user gives the VI a voice number to dial, as well as any special dialing instructions. #The VI places the call and interprets as a neutral, non-participating third party. Anything that the audio user says is signed to the video user, and anything signed by the video user is spoken to the audio user. #Once the call is over, the caller can make another call(s) or hang up with the interpreter. Hearing people can contact a Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, or Speech-Disabled person via VRS. To initiate a call, the hearing person calls the VRS, and is connected to a video interpreter who then contacts the video user. Some VRS services also offer:
HISTORY OF VRS Building support for trials Ed Bosson of the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) envisioned Deaf people communicating with videophones more than 10 years before the FCC mandated it nationwide. Ed contacted Mark Seeger of Sprint Relay and discussed the possibilities. Mark contacted Sprint technicians to see if Ed’s vision was feasible. They reported that it was, so Ed brought the idea to the Texas PUC. It took Ed a long time to be able to convince the PUC and get some help from a lawyer in interpreting. First, Ed convinced his supervisor and then one-by-one, the Commissioners, that video relay should become a part of statewide Telecom Relay Service offerings. They authorized Ed to manage the first video relay service trials. Sprint was the first service provider to conduct the Texas video relay tests. Bosson would later receive national awards from Smithsonian Computerworld and TDI for his work with VRS. Initial trials In 1995, the first trial was run by Sprint in Austin and was limited to four public call centers. The second trial occurred in 1997 and served ten cities in Texas. At that point, Sprint and Hanwave Interpreting partnered to provide service. Jon Hodson of Sorenson Communications worked with Ed Bosson during the early stages and provided video conferencing software during the VRS trial in Texas. (At this point the service was called "Video Relay Interpreting" or VRI, which a name that now refers to Video Remote Interpreting . Linda Nelson is credited with changing the term from VRI to VRS.) Later, Hanwave Interpreting Service was bought by Communication Service For The Deaf , and Sprint expanded their relay subcontract to include VRS services in addition to the established TRS Services . In 1998 Washington and Texas tested VRS statewide, with Texas providing VRS via the Internet to Washington state. Nationwide implementation In 2000, VRS officially became available throughout the state of Texas. In 2002, the FCC allowed for the reimbursement of interstate VRS providers via the interstate TRS fund administration, becoming the second country after Sweden to federally subsidize VRS nationwide. VRS REGULATION IN THE UNITED STATES The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the regulatory body for VRS in the United States. In addition to overseeing VRS, the FCC also oversees Telecommunications Relay Service s (TRS), from which the VRS regulatory framework has evolved. The FCC oversees TRS and VRS as a result of their mandate in the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to facilitate the provisions equal access to individuals with disabilities over the telephone network. Funding for VRS is provided via the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Fund, which was created by the FCC, originally to fund TRS services. The monetary resources for the fund come from telephone bill payers in the United States. The fund is managed by National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA), which also administers the Universal Service Fund . In addition to regulating the funding of VRS, the FCC regulates the standards that VRS companies and their employees must follow in handling calls. These regulations ensure that VRS calls are handled appropriately and ethically. The FCC issued rulings include:
VRS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES Sweden Sweden was the first country to implement a public VRS fully subsidized by the government. United Kingdom The British Deaf Association (BDA) allows people who use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with Hearing people and vice-versa through the BDA-CSD VRS or SIGN VRS services. To launch this service, BDA entered into a partnership with Communication Service For The Deaf . The service was initially operated as a free trial. {Link without Title} CURRENT ISSUES IN VRS ADMINISTRATION
MAJOR VIDEO RELAY SERVICE PROVIDERS ''United States of America''
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