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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  St.,  S.  W.  washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov 
 DA  02-  532  Released:  March  6,  2002 
 FCC  ANNOUNCES  MAY  3,  2002  AS  THE  DATE  OF  THE  RESCHEDULED  PUBLIC  FORUM  AND  TECHNOLOGY  EXPO  ON  TELECOMMUNICATIONS  RELAY 
 SERVICE  (CC  Docket  98-  67) 


 The  Public  Forum  and  Technology  Expo  on  Telecommunications  Relay  Service  (TRS)  originally  scheduled  for  October  10,  2001  has  been  rescheduled  to  Friday,  May  3,  2002,  from  9:  30  a.  m.  –  3:  30  p.  m. 
 in  the  Commission  Meeting  Room  (TW-  C305)  and  adjacent  rooms  at  the  Federal  Communications  Commission,  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.,  Washington,  DC  20554.  The  Commission  invites  interested  persons 
 to  attend. 


 The  purpose  of  this  Forum  and  Expo  is  for  TRS  administrators,  consumers,  providers,  and  Commission  staff  to  share  information  on,  among  other  things,  the  current  state  of  TRS  and  new  TRS  technologies. 
 The  Forum  will  offer  an  opportunity  for  everyone,  including  consumers  and  industry  representatives,  to  exchange  ideas  with  the  Commission  and  TRS  administrators  and  to  have  their  comments  become  part  of 
 the  public  record  in  CC  Docket  98-  67.  In  conjunction  with  the  Forum,  the  FCC’s  Consumer  Information  Bureau  will  hold  a  Technology  Expo  to  showcase  TRS  and  other  accessibility  technologies. 


 The  agenda  for  the  Forum  has  not  been  finalized.  It  will  be  announced  in  a  subsequent  Public  Notice. 
 TRS  is  required  by  Title  IV  of  the  Americans  With  Disabilities  Act  (Section  225  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended).  TRS  now  utilizes  a  variety  of  services  to  facilitate  telecommunications 
 between  persons  with  hearing  or  speech  disabilities  and  persons  who  use  voice  telephones.  Relay  services  between  TTY  and  voice  users  utilize  a  relay  operator,  called  a  Communications  Assistant  (CA) 
 to  read  what  the  TTY  user  types  to  a  voice  telephone  user  and  to  type  responses  back  to  the  TTY  user  throughout  the  duration  of  a  telephone  call.  Speech-  to-  speech  (STS)  relay  utilizes  CAs  trained  in 
 understanding  certain  speech  patterns  to  relay  conversations  for  people  with  speech  disabilities.  Video  relay  services  (VRS)  utilize  CAs  skilled  in  sign  language  to  relay  conversations  for  users  of  American 
 Sign  Language. 
 The  meeting  will  be  broadcast  on  the  Internet  in  Real  Audio/  Real  Video  format  with  open  captioning  at  www.  fcc.  gov/  realaudio.  Sign  language  interpretation,  open  captioning  and  assistive  listening  devices  will 
 be  provided.  Meeting  agenda  and  handout  materials  will  be  provided  in  accessible  formats.  The  meeting  site  is  fully  accessible  to  people  using  wheelchairs  or  other  mobility  aids.  Additional  accessibility 
 requests  can  be  e-  mailed  to  FCC504@  fcc.  gov,  or  to  Helen  Chang,  Section  504  Officer,  at  hchang@  fcc.  gov  (phone:  (202)  418-  0424  voice,  (202)  418-  0432  TTY). 
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 For  more  information  about  the  TRS  Forum  or  Technology  Expo,  including  how  to  exhibit  at  the  Expo,  please  contact  Suzanne  Perrin  at  (202)  418-  2874  (voice),  (202)  418-  1085  (TTY),  or  sperrin@  fcc.  gov 
 (email). 
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