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 NEWS  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  News  Media  Contact:  February  28,  2001  Rosemary  Kimball  at  (202)  418-  0511 
 TTY  (202)  418-  2555 
 TWO  MAJOR  FCC  CONSUMER  INITIATIVES  TO  BEGIN  MARCH  1  Speech  to  Speech  Relay  Services  and  Interstate  Relay  Services  in  Spanish  Become 
 Available  Nationwide  Tomorrow 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Beginning  tomorrow  all  Americans  with  speech  disabilities  and  Spanish-  speaking  people  who  have  speech  or  hearing  disabilities  will  have  two  new 
 telecommunications  tools. 
 Starting  March  1,  2001,  the  FCC  is  requiring  telephone  companies  to  provide  speech  to  speech  (STS)  relay  service.  This  service  allows  a  person  with  a  speech 
 disability  to  access  a  specially  trained  operator  (called  a  communications  assistant,  or  CA)  who  makes  the  call  and  repeats,  or  relays,  the  words  that  the  caller  is  saying  to  the 
 called  party.  The  called  party  responds  directly  to  the  caller  and  does  not  go  through  the  CA. 


 STS  is  a  part  of  the  more  extensive  telecommunications  relay  service  (TRS). 
 After  March  1,  all  TRS  interstate  services  will  be  available  in  Spanish. 


 TRS  is  a  telephone  transmission  service,  originally  required  in  the  1990  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act  and  implemented  nationwide  in  1993.  It  enables  persons 
 with  hearing  and  speech  disabilities  to  communicate  by  telephone  with  persons  who  may  or  may  not  have  such  disabilities.  As  a  result,  many  Americans  who  had  limited 
 or  no  practical  access  to  telephone  services  can  use  the  telephone  via  relay  service.  TRS  now  uses  a  variety  of  services  to  facilitate  telephone  communication  by  persons 
 with  hearing  or  speech  disabilities.  Currently  the  FCC  requires  text  to  voice  relay  services.  This  type  of  services  uses  a  CA  to  speak  what  a  text  telephone  (TTY)  user 
 types,  and  to  type  what  a  voice  telephone  user  replies.  TRS  users  do  not  pay  extra  to  use  these  services.  Generally,  phone  companies  cover  the  costs  of  providing  TRS 
 through  a  subscriber  line  surcharge  of  a  few  cents  a  month. 
 The  Commission  anticipates  that  STS  will  be  especially  valuable  to  Individuals  with  cerebral  palsy,  Parkinson's  disease,  laryngectomies,  Alzheimer's  disease, 
 stuttering,  muscular  dystrophy,  stroke,  and  other  conditions  affecting  loudness  or  clarity  of  speech.  Individuals  with  speech  disabilities,  and  their  friends  and  family  members 
 wishing  to  telephone  people  with  severe  speech  disabilities  call  the  number  in  their  state 
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 for  relay  services  and  ask  for  the  STS  communications  assistant  to  dial  the  number  they 
 desire  to  call. 


 Beginning  tomorrow,  for  interstate  calls,  Spanish-  speaking  persons  with  speech  or  hearing  disabilities  will  have  access  to  Spanish-  speaking  CAs  who  will  receive 
 messages  either  by  voice  or  TTY  in  Spanish,  convey  the  message  to  the  called  party  in  Spanish  and  respond  to  the  caller,  if  necessary.  (This  is  not  a  translation  service.) 


 The  two  new  extensions  to  TRS  are  critical,  given  the  importance  that 
 telecommunication  plays  in  a  person’s  ability  to  participate  in  this  information  age.  It  provides  telephone  access  to  a  significant  number  of  Americans  who  without  it  may  not 


 be  able  to  make  or  receive  calls  from  others.  According  to  the  U.  S.  Census  Bureau,  10.9  million  Americans  have  a  functional  limitation  in  hearing  what  is  said  in  a  normal 
 conversation  and  2.5  million  have  a  functional  limitation  in  having  one's  speech  understood. 


 Improving  the  quality  of  TRS  will  enhance  employment  opportunities  for  people 
 with  hearing  and  speech  disabilities  and  may  contribute  to  a  decrease  in  their  unemployment  rate.  According  to  recent  statistics  on  employment  of  persons  with 


 disabilities,  while  82.1  percent  of  the  general  working  age  population  (ages  21-  64)  is  employed,  only  52.3  percent  of  all  people  with  disabilities  are  employed.  This  figure 
 includes  persons  who  have  difficulty  performing  functional  activities  such  as  hearing  and  having  one's  speech  understood.  Among  those  with  severe  disabilities,  only  26.1 
 percent  are  employed. 
 Office  of  Disability  Rights  Office  contact:  Jenifer  Simpson  at  202-  418-  0008  (voice),  202-  418-  1169  (TTY),  jsimpson@  fcc.  gov. 


 -  FCC  -( 


 Docket  CC  98-  67) 
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