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A Video Relay Service (VRS) is a free service provided to deaf, hard of hearing and speech-disabled individuals, which enables them to make real-time telephone calls to hearing people, and vice versa. The service is funded and regulated by the FCC.

How It Works

When an individual that uses American Sign Language, or some other mode of manual communication (such as Signing Exact English, Pidgin Signed English, Linguistics of Visual English, etc.,) to communicate wishes to place a phone call to a Hearing person (or vice versa) they use either a videophone or a camera-enabled device (such as a webcam connected to a computer) to connect to a Video Relay Service (VRS). The caller is routed to a sign language interpreter (referred to in this context as a Video Interpreter ) who is also in front of a camera or videophone. Once connected, the VRS user can give the VI the number to dial, as well as any special dialing instructions, if needed. The VI places the call and interprets in normal mode as a neutral, non-participating third-party. Put simply, anything that the phone user speaks will be signed to the video user, and anything signed by the video user will be spoken to the phone user. Once the call is over, the VRS user is free to make subsequent calls or to hang up.

As mentioned above, VRS calls are not only initiated by persons who communicate manually. Hearing people wishing to contact a Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, or Speech-Disabled person can use their telephones to call the video interpreter, who will in turn contact the videophone user.

Most VRS services also offer other options for their users. Such options may or may not include:

Voice Carry Over: Using their own voice instead of the interpreter's voice
Hearing Carry Over: Using their own hearing instead of the interpreter's hearing
Language Preference: Informing the interpreter to use either American Sign Language or Signed English
Connecting to a sign language interpreter that can interpret into other languages, such as Spanish.

The History of VRS

Ed Bosson, the Texas relay administrator, envisioned Deaf people communicating with each other with videophones more than more that 10 years before the FCC decided to mandate it as a 24/7 service. Ed contacted Mark Seeger who was then the account manager of Sprint TRS in Texas at the time and explained about the possibilities. Mark contacted the Sprint technicians to see if Ed’s vision would work. The technicians reported that it would work. Ed was thrilled to know that and went to Texas PUC with the idea. However, it took Ed a long time to be able to convince PUC and got some help from a lawyer in interpreting. One by one, Ed’s supervisor then the Commissioners were convinced it was a feature of TRS. They allowed Ed to do the trials. Sprint was the first TRS to provide two trial testing. The first trial was in Austin, Texas during 1995 and was limited to 4 locations. The second trial was done in 1997 expanding to 10 different cities in Texas. During that time, two different services working together participated in the trials, Sprint and Hanwave Interpreting. During that time it was called "Video Relay Interpreting" or VRI. (Now VRI stands for Video Remote Interpreting which is not a service for users of Sign Language to communicate over the telephone.) Linda Nelson, a deaf representative, suggested that they change acronym to VRS (Video Relay Service). Jon Hodson from Sorenson worked with Ed Bosson during early stages and provided Sorenson PCI, video conferencing software during the VRS trial in Texas. To some extent, the trials went well that time so sometime during 2000, VRS became formal in Texas. Since that time, Texas was paying for the VRS service until FCC started reimbursing VRS providers, Texas stopped paying for it. Hanwave Interpreting Service was bought out by CSD (Communication Service for the Deaf) so Sprint subcontracted with them jumping aboard the beginning of the VRS industry. Sorenson is the inventor and co-developeder of the D-Link i2eye videophone. Sorenson's customized videophone, the Sorenson VP-100 and VP-200 are aimed at the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing population. Washington and Texas were the first states to try out VRS statewide in 1998. Texas provided VRS through the internet to the Washington state. Sweden was the first country to implement a public VRS fully subsidized by the government. North Carolina was the first state to provide a public site where deaf can go make a call that is subsidized by their government. USA was the second country to provide public and personal VRS for all states fully subsidized by the federal government. Sprint/CSD were the first to provide trials and introduced the first VRS model at Deaf Way II in 2002. On basis of Ed Bosson’s work in VRS, Smithsonian Computerworld and TDI gave national awards to him.

The FCC's Role in VRS

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the regulatory body for Video Relay Services (VRS). The FCC makes changes that directly impact VRS customers. The FCC oversees both Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) and VRS in their effort to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in providing equal access to individuals with disabilities. The FCC created the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Fund, currently overseen by NECA (National Exchange Carriers Association), to fund TRS and VRS services.

In addition to funding VRS, the FCC regulates how VRS companies and their employees handle calls. These regulations help to ensure that VRS calls are handled appropriately and ethically.

On July 14, 2005, the FCC issued rulings that include: 1) speed of answer requirements; 2) hours of service requirements; and 3) the funding of VRS video mail. First, speed of answer refers to the time it takes an interpreter to answer an incoming VRS call. The FCC has established a speed of answer requirement. As of January 1, 2006, VRS providers must answer 80% of their calls within three minutes. This decreases to two and a half minutes on July 1, 2006 and decreases again to two minutes on January 1, 2007. Second, hours of service refers to the hours of operation that a VRS provider is open. As of January 1, 2006, all VRS providers are required to stay open 24 hours a day - seven days a week. Finally, up until the FCC’s announcement, VRS providers were not reimbursed for providing VRS Video Mail. If a Hearing person called a Sign Language user, but there was no answer, the VI could sign a message and deliver it to the Sign Language user's e-mail, similar to an answering machine, but the VRS provider absorbed the cost. The FCC is now reimbursing providers for VRS Video Mail. On July 19, 2005, the FCC announced that as of January 1, 2006, all VRS providers must stop “calling back” when a customer hangs up before a VRS call is placed. In addition, the FCC indicates that VRS providers must only process calls that either originate or terminate in the US or its territories. For example, a person in Canada may use American VRS to call a person in America, but not another person Canada. Only Americans pay into the Interstate TRS Fund.

VRS outside the USA

The British Deaf Association (BDA) allows people who use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with Hearing people and vice-versa through this VRS: BDA-CSD VRS or SIGN VRS. To launch this service, BDA entered into a partnership with CSD, Inc. The service was initally operated as a free trial. Personal calls will be charged per minute and the cost will be approximately 30p per minute. A special discounted price will be available for consumers whose local council has set up a service level agreement with SIGNVRS. For users the payment can be arranged as subscriptions (similar to ‘top-up’ service with a mobile).

Major Video Relay Service Providers

Category:

Assistive technology