Layoffs at Sorenson

Dozens of people will lose their jobs next month when Sorenson Communications cuts their Internet Protocol Relay department. We first told you about the company's plans to get rid of that department on Monday. Here's a video report about the change from Utah's KSL-TV. Captions available.

Relay Provider Cuts Service

A major IP relay provider is dropping its service after eight years. Sorenson Communications has written to the FCC to inform the agency. The company says the rates it gets paid aren't enough to pay for the equipment and the relay operators. The Commission cut the rate it pays IP Relay providers by 21 percent this year and plans further cuts in the future. Two other IP Relay providers have made similar decisions recently. Customers can keep their present relay number by transferring to another provider such as Sprint--if they do so by the end of next month (August 31). The FCC has a list of providers here. Sorenson will continue to offer its CaptionCall service, which is a separate service from the relay.

Sorenson Gets Obscene Calls

Sorenson is suing a man for making more than 300 obscene phone calls to 30 of its employees in Utah. The lawsuit doesn't reveal the man's name, but the video relay company claims he started calling female employees this summer calling himself Rick Smith, though Sorenson that is not his real name. What it has determined is that he's using different Verizon phone accounts and calling from the Sacramento, California area. Sorenson wants to subpoena phone company records to figure out the caller's identity. It says he breathes heavily and uses vulgar, indecent language and makes obscene and sexual proposals.

Sorenson v. FCC

Sorenson's attempt to challenge VRS rates has been turned aside by a federal court. The judges said in their ruling that the FCC determined video relay service rates are "consistent with its statutory mandate and is not arbitrary or capricious.”

Sign-Mail and other Features

Sorenson showed off its new Ntouch VP at NTID yesterday. Students at the Rochester school were impressed with features like its ability to allow users to leave ASL voice mail messages (called sign-mail). The Ntouch will also block calls, as opposed to simply allowing the phone to ring until the caller hangs up. There's an iPhone or Android app available for users that performs the same functions as the program. If you already have the older version, Sorenson will provide an upgrade for free. There is more information here.

The ntouch VP Videophone

Sorenson Communications introduced a new version of its video relay service this week. The ntouch VP Videophone lets users use their computers or hook up to a television for phone conversations with an interpreter. Unlike the last version of the device, the new hardware includes a separate webcam-like camera along with better quality video. Plus, callers can leave messages and there is a ring of flashing lights that can blink in different patterns to identify the caller. A Sorenson relay operator is available to users or calls can be made directly if both parties have the videophone. Find out more here.

Express Yourself Contest

Here are the winners in the Sorenson Communications annual "Express Yourself" Video Contest. They were announced last night at the California School for the Deaf in conjunction with DeafNation Expo Riverside.

• The Youth category winner is Daniella, from Chicago. She'll get $1000 for her effort.
• The General category winner is Melissa Malzkuhn, from Washington, D.C. She'll get a check for $1500.
• The Sorenson Employee winner is Robert Giuntoli, from Austin, Texas. He will also receive $1500.

N-Touch

Sorenson Communications is launching an app called called N-Touch for Windows on PCs and Android on Mobile devices. Users will be able to use Sorenson's video relay regardless of whether they are on a PC or cell phone, provided they have one of those software systems in place. You can find out more here.

Report on Video Relay Changes

WDBJ-TV in Roanoke disputes Sorenson's claim that FCC changes in video relay would have a "dire impact" on the deaf community. The video report is below and the text of the report is here.

Soreson: New Rules Could Lead to Bankruptcy

The future of video relay is in question, according to this statement released on the Sorenson Video Relay site. But the federal agency says claims by the largest VRS provider to the deaf in the US are "not true". Here's a statement from the FCC:

May 10, 2010: A Message from the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to the VRS Community

You may have seen claims that the video relay service (VRS) program is threatened. This is not true. The FCC is committed to ensuring the provision of high quality VRS to all individuals who need this service. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires telecommunications access that is functionally equivalent to voice telephone services for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities. The FCC continues to believe that VRS is the most functionally equivalent form of relay for people who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). We stand ready to meet our obligation to preserve and protect the VRS program so that ASL users and hearing people can communicate with each other over distances. This was the goal of Congress in passing the ADA and it continues to be our goal.

Here are the facts: On April 30th, the FCC released a Public Notice (DA-10-761A1.doc) asking the general public for feedback on what VRS providers should be paid to handle VRS calls for the next year. The Public Notice seeks comment on reimbursing providers based on the actual costs that VRS providers themselves claim to have incurred over the past few years to provide VRS. The only way to safeguard the VRS program is to adopt reasonable rates for all forms of relay services. Thus, it is our goal to adopt rates that are rationally based on the reasonable costs of actually providing VRS. We welcome all comments on our Public Notice, and will take all feedback into account to determine the next VRS rates. The VRS program will continue to provide the excellent communication service that you need.

Joel Gurin, Bureau ChiefKaren Peltz Strauss, Deputy Bureau Chief

The FCC says it is adjusting their rates to a "reasonable" amount. Sorenson offered this response to the FCC statement.

The rates that the FCC is proposing will drive Sorenson, the leading provider of VRS, into bankruptcy. The FCC proposes to compensate Sorenson $3.89 per minute, while paying all other providers more than $5.77 per minute. Sorenson's real costs are nearly $6 per minute. As Sorenson has repeatedly told the FCC, the FCC ignores substantial, real-world costs that are essential to providing Sorenson VRS. The FCC is incorrect in its assessment of what would happen if it adopts its proposal. Sorenson understands completely the impact the proposed rate would have on its business. It would be disastrous for consumers.

Read more here.

Sorenson Online Changes

Sorenson Communications has rolled out a new design for the Sorenson Video Relay Service website. The goal was a creating more deaf-friendly content by offering more videos using ASL.

Sorenson CEUs

VRS provider Sorenson provided more than 200,000 continuing education units (CEUs) from January through October 2009 for interpreters. The company has sponsored more than 750 interpreter workshops during the past year. Sorenson is also making available to its interpreters an American Council on Education accredited, professional development program. It allows terps to earn CEUs in pursuit of their national interpreting certification (NIC) through RID as well as standard college credits.

VRS Training Center Opens

Sorenson Communications has officially opened its VRS Interpreting Institute at the company’s headquarters in Salt Lake City. Sorenson says it’s a state-of-the-art facility with the most current educational technology. Carolyn Ball has been tapped will lead the Institute. She was coordinator of the Salt Lake Community College Interpreter Training Program.

New Phones for Gallaudet

The student academic center at Gallaudet University will open four videophone booths with free video relay service tomorrow. The equipment comes from relay service provider Sorenson Communications. The new videophones come with an enhanced 911 feature that allows an emergency dispatcher to verify the caller's address through the 10-digit phone number when the caller dials 911. That will also help VRS users receive phone calls. Instead of dialing two numbers, one for the relay operator and one for the person they are trying to call, now a caller can reach a VRS user directly, using the 10-digit phone number. An interpreter will answer the call and provide assistance to both the caller and the receiver.

Professional Development Courses

Sorenson is offering new professional development education courses called Effective Interpreting Series. The Video Relay Service provider will allow their interpreters to improve skill while earning college credit. The classes created by Language Matters, Inc also qualify as Continuing Education Units for the RID Certification Maintenance Program. The training consists of six one-credit courses being offered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Mentoring Program

Sorenson Communication is offering a new mentoring program that will give interpreters a change to improve their skill with one-on-one help from ASL experts. The Language Mentor Program provides 16-weeks of training for Video Relay and will help to prepare interpreters for national certification. The sessions are free for interpreters who work in Sorenson’s VRS system and can be taken in the home through the company’s videophones.

Video Relay Gets Simplified

In order to receive telephone calls through Sorenson Communications video sign language interpreter services, users have had to give out two numbers. One for the call center (in order to connect to an interpreter so that the caller can see the interpreter's sign language on a video screen) and another phone number for the person being called. But not anymore. The company is now making it possible for deaf customers to give out just one number. All three parties will be connected automatically. This also means a deaf person calling another no longer has to go through a call center to be connected through a video screen.

New Gallaudet Board Members

James Sorenson and Tiffany Williams-Granfors have agreed to serve on the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. James Sorenson heads up Sorenson Development, a major force in videophones and video relay services out of Utah. Gallaudet alum Williams-Granfors oversees the Winter and Summer Deaflympics and the World Deaf Championships.

Library of Congress

Videophones are being installed in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Sorenson Communications has been given the green light to add 16 units. That makes the Library of Congress one of the first federal agencies to set up a videophone network agency-wide for the benefit of staff members who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. There are 20 deaf staff members who work in a variety of positions throughout the library.