Verizon Expands Enhanced Sign Language Service to Deaf or Hearing-Impaired Customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island
Posted on May 29, 2008
Filed Under News
NEW YORK, May 29 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon customers in three Northeast
states who are deaf or hearing impaired can now use American Sign Language
and videophones to communicate directly with the company about
service-related issues.
Verizon’s Center for Customers with Disabilities first made this
customer service support available last year in Washington D.C., Maryland,
Virginia and West Virginia. Verizon has since expanded the support to
Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, enabling deaf or hearing-impaired
customers in those states to communicate directly via videophone with a
representative in the Verizon center who is proficient in using American
Sign Language (ASL) to handle orders, change services or answer questions.
(Note: For a video demonstration and recorded comments from Claude
Stout, executive director of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Inc. (TDI), a national consumer advocacy organization based in
Silver Spring, Md., log on to
http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/broadband-video-link/).
“Our deaf or hearing-impaired customers love this service because it
gives them an avenue to communicate directly with us and not have to call
using an interpreter or a relay service,” said Kimberly Grenda, an American
Sign Language service representative in the Verizon Center for Customers
with Disabilities. “The expansion of customer service support in ASL via
videophone will allow Verizon to better connect to our customers.”
Most video services for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing involve
an interpreter who relays messages between those individuals and the
hearing parties they communicate with. A videophone with a high-speed
Internet connection and a monitor, used either one-on-one or with an
interpreter, is preferred by many American Sign Language users when they
want to communicate by telephone.
Heidi Reed, commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH), said, “MCDHH commends this enhancement to
Verizon’s customer services for our many constituents who use American Sign
Language. This addition in service delivery reflects Verizon’s leadership
role in meeting the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing customers. All of us
at MCDHH look forward to continued excellence in communication access
services for residents of Massachusetts.”
People can have a video conversation in ASL with a videophone — a
set-top box with either a built-in camera connected to a broadband router,
a free-standing desk unit with a small screen or a Web cam supported by a
computer and appropriate software. Each equipment option requires a
high-speed Internet connection to receive good picture quality;
lower-bandwidth services will result in pixilation and low frame rates on
most products.
ASL is a unique language that incorporates hand gestures and facial
expressions, and provides a more expressive and fulfilling
telecommunications experience than either TTY (teletype) equipment or relay
services.
“Due to the widespread availability and affordability of broadband,
more and more deaf or hard-of-hearing consumers have a videophone,” said
Grenda. “We believe the videophone option gives customers a simpler, more
user-friendly way to interact with Verizon for their telecommunications
needs.”
Verizon customer service representatives can recommend services and
equipment that make communications easier for people with various
disabilities. For example, Verizon offers phones that have photos on the
buttons to help people with cognitive difficulties, and phones that operate
by remote control for people with physical disabilities.
Some customers with disabilities can get an exemption from charges for
calls made to 411 or for operator-assisted calls. Verizon can provide its
bill statements in large print or Braille at no extra charge. The company
also produces a quarterly newsletter (http://www.verizon.com/forwardaccess ;
please enter a phone number or zip code to access the file) filled with
news and information for its customers with disabilities.
While Verizon does not currently sell videophones, the center supports
sales of other equipment to help people with disabilities. (NOTE: See
accompanying list of available equipment.)
The Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities, which is
celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, provides customer support to
people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, blind, or have vision, mobility,
speech or cognitive disabilities. There are two such centers, one in
Marlboro, Mass., the other in Oxnard, Calif.
When the Marlboro center opened in 1992, its staff of six
representatives handled approximately 4,000 calls a year. Today, the staff
has grown to more than 100 representatives who now handle more than 700,000
calls annually.
For more information about the Verizon Center for Customers with
Disabilities, consumers can call 1-800-974-6006 (voice/TTY). Consumers
needing customer service support can call via videophone at either
1-800-974-6006 or 1-888-974-6006.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a
leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless
communication innovations to mass market, business, government and
wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable
wireless network, serving more than 67 million customers nationwide.
Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers
innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world,
and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged
communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s
most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employed a
diverse workforce of approximately 232,000 as of the end of the first
quarter 2008 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of
$93.5 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com.
VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches
and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at
http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News
Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news
releases.
About Videophone Use
Many deaf or heard-of-hearing customers are already very familiar with
videophones, using them to work with video relay services to communicate
with hearing persons with the help of an interpreter who translates
messages to and from American Sign Language (ASL), or for direct
communication with others who know and use ASL. Some computers equipped
with the proper software and Web cameras can be used, as well. Videophones
can be hooked up either to a regular TV or to a PC monitor
(http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=293) or can be desktop units
complete with a small screen
(http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=302).
For effective video conferencing communication at good frame rates,
customers need a high-speed line with a downstream speed of at least 256
kilobits per second or higher. Verizon’s High Speed Internet services start
at speeds of up to 768 Kbps and range up to 50 Mbps on FiOS Internet
connections.
Phones are simply dialed as usual, though with some equipment setups
the phone number dialed actually represents a computer IP address
Customers have options regarding the hardware they use. Phones made by
companies like D-Link can be purchased for about $150 to about $300
depending on the model and connection type. But other models by other
makers are available free to users of various video relay services, which
are publicly funded under Federal Communication Commission requirements.
Products Available From Verizon for Consumers With Disabilities
Big Button Corded Feature Phone (ITT2400). Provides one-touch
photo-memory buttons (pictures can be inserted behind the buttons) and
flashing visual ring indicator. Braille on buttons and hearing-aid
compatible.
Ameriphone Amplified Corded Telephone (AMEP300). Allows for quick and
easy dialing of pre-programmed telephone numbers by simply pressing a
button (pictures can be inserted behind the buttons). Phone comes with
adjustable amplification and bright ringer flasher handset; hearing aid
T-Coil-compatible
Amplified phone that has a jumbo keypad w/Braille (JV-35). Jumbo-sized,
high-contrast buttons with Braille. Electronic voice repeats numbers as
dialed. Amplification boosts incoming sound with adjustable tone control
for better clarity of incoming voice. Also has audio jack for use with
assistive listening devices.
Talking Caller ID 99 Name and Number (CV9900CW). Uses patented
VoiceAnnounce technology to announce calls over its built-in speaker or
over the handset of a cordless phone. This gives Caller ID subscribers the
ability to screen calls without the interruptions and inconvenience imposed
by traditional, display-only Caller ID equipment.
Amplified 2.4Ghz Cordless Phone (CL600). Backlit Caller ID, powerful
2.4Ghz technology for extended range. Amplifies incoming voice up to 30 db
with adjustable volume. Adjustable tone for crystal-clear clarity.
Extra-loud ringer in base. Audio jack for use with assistive listening
devices.
Portable TTY machine (751075). A dual-purpose TTY that is lightweight,
portable and full-featured, it connects to TSB-121, which makes it
compatible for mobile/cell phone and for many cordless phones. Built-in
microphone and large display enables hands-free voice carry over (VCO)
calls. Optional speakers or headset enables hearing carry over (HCO) calls.
The machine comes with 68-key keyboard with one-touch capability for many
common phrases.
Clarity 500 big button amplified telephone (W500). An ergonomically
optimized, corded, amplified telephone with a Caller ID display. This phone
enables people with a hearing loss to hear clearly and communicate easily.
High-frequency sounds are amplified more than the low-frequency sounds so
that words are not just louder, but clearer and easier to understand.
A voice carry over corded phone (751330). Also known as the “the speak
and then read phone,” it allows the user to speak to the callers while
reading their words on a built-in screen through a toll-free relay service.
It is easy to use, and no typing is required. It comes with a powerful
amplifier to make the incoming sound 30 times louder.
Remote control hands-free speakerphone (RC200). This product can be
accessed by remote switches. The RC-200 comes with a “mouse-style” remote
control for memory scanning, dialing and answering from up to 40 feet away.
SOURCE Verizon
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