Deaf Access to Alternative Relay in Telecommunications Campaign Group is a group of individuals who wish to see a functional equivalent access of relay services for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
The first campaign aims to lobby the Government to create a Telecommunications Relay Fund so that companies can put forward tenders to set up relay services.
Why?
Deaf and Hard of Hearing People in America, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, some European countries currently have the ability to communicate through video relay, captioned relay that gives it functional equivalent access. ( i.e almost live communication that a hearing person enjoys when communicating through telecommunications.
In Britain Deaf and HOH people have to rely on the slow and outdated text relay services. It is too slow, hearing people hate using it, deaf people hate using it so why do we put up with it when there is better and faster service available using latest technology.
The problem with the faster relay services is that it is expensive for the user to use. To solve this problem a telecommunication relay fund will subsidise the running costs and the user just pay for the phone call ( same as a hearing person would)
The solution is simple. If we can encourage Government, Ofcom, European parliaments to introduce a law to make Telecommunication companies to put aside 0.5% of their total revenues to go into the fund. This will create a 44 million funding pool allowing companies to tender to provide alternative relay services.
So why is the Government and Ofcom dragging their heels when other countries are doing exactly what we are campaigning for?
This campaign is to show them the positive benefits of having a telecommunications relay fund.
The concept behind a Telecommunication Relay Fund (TRF) as an independent fund to financially support tenders and bids from companies who wish to provide any relay support service for all disability groups.
The Rationale
In recent years technology has been rapidly advancing in the telecommunications market. This has sparked new opportunities and solutions that would allow telecommunications to be accessible to a wider disability group of potential users. Unfortunately costs to have those services are usually higher than the standard rate of a telephone call. In some cases there has been a subsidy funded through companies or government departments. This arrangement is ad hoc and does not have consistency. The current infrastructure now impacts on various fronts:
- Any potential development which provides a better service and gets closer to functional equivalent access is usually hampered by lack of funds to make the provision available.
- Government departments tend to pass new requests for funding around different departments abdicating responsibility and suggesting that others are responsible.
- The current USO( Universal Service Obligation) and SMP (Significant Market Power) are often barriers that prevent progress and hinder diversity and competition.
- It is a fact that we have to work within the constraints of UK membership of the EU. Decisions taken in the current round of consultations on the Communications Directives will take several years to implement. The UK should therefore proceed as best it can to achieve things faster than can be achieved at EU level.
The Way Forward
There needs to be a system or infrastructure where a percentage of the Communications Market Revenues (0.5 or 1%) is put into a TRF. The industry could communicate to users that a percentage of their bill is charged to support a TRF on the grounds that should any customer ever become disabled and unable to use telecommunications like they were able to before, the funds would be able to support companies who provide specialist relay services to cater for all needs. This is like an insurance in case a customer ever finds themselves unable to use telecommunications.
The Benefits Of This System.
- Funds become available on a yearly basis for companies who wish to provide specialist relay services to be able to tender bids
- There would be healthy competition among service providers who demonstrate quality of service, value for money and who use the latest improved technology to be more effective and efficient.
- Removes the burden from Government to fund services
- There will be a variety of relay services available catering for the diverse range of disabled people to ensure they receive functionally equivalent access.
- It does not place the burden on one company that has the SMP.
How Would The TRF Work?
The TRF should be an independent body and remain impartial. Its primary function is to ensure that the funds are used to provide a variety of relay services deemed “fit for purpose” for disability groups they are intending to service. The TRF will have a link to the telecommunications service providers only in terms of determining the percentage of the revenues to be put into the fund.
There are various ways that the TRF could be managed. One suggestion is that the administration of the fund could be done through a company like Price Waterhouse while the policy framework for administering tenders could be the responsibility of Ofcom.
IF YOU FEEL YOU WANT TO PART OF THIS CAMPAIGN TO SEE ALTERNATIVE RELAY SERVICES HERE IN THE UK THEN JOIN US
Tell all your friends about this. The more supporters we get the more we can persuade Government and Ofcom to do something about this.
