How the deaf are getting to VoIP
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The Internet means democracy, and hearing-impaired and deaf people should also be able to benefit from Internet telephony. For unlimited and/or international calls.
Currently, the most interesting way to telecommunicate is what is called Video relay services or VRS. Its principle? In front of their webcam or videophone, deaf people chat using American sign language. An interpreter translates their gestures into speech to a “hearing party”, who then answers normally.
And it goes like this back and forth until the phone bill gets freaking heavy to pay. Because, such services are pretty expensive to endorse. The FCC (the US Federal telecommunications marshal), which is in charge to run the service, pays around $6 a minute to VRS providers from a tax levied on every US phone bill.
But things are going to change. Wired Magazine reports that more and more deaf people relied on video conferencing tools, such as SightSpeed (see SightSpeed introduces Video VoIP recording), to converse over the Internet. VRS providers LifeLinks has also started to promote it, selling package service composed of a broadband Internet connection, a webcam offer and the video calling software.
As said Louis Armstrong, what a wonderful world…
Apr 17, 2006 | By Nuno
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