FCC announces New 3 year VRS rate methodology..
Rate Wait Saga

VRS providers would like some decision -soon- on the pending rate methodology for VRS cost of service (per minute) rates.But past and recent events make the FCC look more like the DOJ (Department of Justice)
Take a look

On October 5 HOVRS legal counsel met separately with FCC officials about the VRS rate order and other VRS “open” matters such as the 10 digit number system for VRS and the pending declatory ruling to prohibit VRS providers from entering into non-compete agreements” with VI’s.Then on October 12 - Snap, Sorenson and Sprint legal and corporate reps’ met with legal advisers of the FCC officials.This meeting focused on an “ expeditious adoption of a rate order” for the FCC to implement a decision on the VRS providers support for a 3 year, tiered price cap plan for VRS compensation rates.
Their “expeditious” wishes would have made January ‘08 a start up target date.

But wait...
On October 22 Sorenson reps had a phone conversation with some FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau officials.

This phone conversation addressed “priority access-speed of answer” for 911 calls regarding VRS-IP relay calls.
It seems the FCC would like the 911 calls thru IP relay prioritized much in the same way that Sorenson has the 911 calls prioritized through their VRS system.Sorenson informed the FCC that it could take 6 months to develop a software system to meet that stipulation. Will that mean the “expeditious adoption of a rate order” for Sorenson,Snap and Sprint have to wait until this software is developed for the prioritized 911 IP relay system before a rate order will be issued ?

and then...KABOOM
On October 19, a lawsuit was filed by Daryl Crouse and Charles Reeves against Snap and other individuals.
Some of you may know Daryl Crouse. He is a RID member and was chair of the Video Interpreting committee at RID.
This lawsuit alleges that Mr. Crouse was placed then removed from position(s) of authority and ultimately “fired” in a protracted “conspiracy” that involves business deals gone awry.

These recent events read like a murder mystery for VRS and a legal quagmire beyond imagination.
Stay tuned !

Will size matter?
GoAmerica merges with Hands On VRS (HOVRS)

Undoubtedly, the cash cow of the VRS industry will fatten the corporate piggy banks in this deal by GoAmerica and it's merger with Hands on VRS. This along with the quiet buy-out of VERIZONS’ TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES DIVISION a month earlier.

What remains to be seen is how will this impact the competition in this market.
Will this be a David & Goliath saga or could it morph into Goliath v. Goliath.
In the lake of big fish, the question might be who will swallow who?

Will this merger benefit, in any significant way, the Deaf/HoH consumers of VRS ?
What happens to the VIs’ who feed this cash cow of the VRS industry? With all this corporate positioning and activity it might be a good idea for VI's to think about getting involved in their own position in this booming industry.

The fires in San Diego created another "hot spot" for the Deaf community there...
An ASL interpreter at the mayors side on the TV. READ STORY
And...Memories of Hurricane Katrina were rekindled when mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans had a terp at his side on tv alerting EVERYONE of important news.
This San Diego terp has received high praises from both the Deaf and hearing communities for her service.
Heres proof it WORKS.SEE THE VLOG

Texas Children’s Hospital Provides Free Interpreting
Texas Children’s Hospital One of the Nation’s Largest Pediatric Hospital Offers Free Interpretation
Children’s Hospital, an affiliate of Baylor College of Medicine, located in Houston, Texas, has performed its first live video interpretation with MARTTI™(My Accessible Real Time Trusted Interpreter); LAN’s live two way video/audio interpretation system.
Aptly titled Vision 2010 - Excellence to Eminence, this is the largest short-term investment ever by a single children's hospital anywhere in the world.
Language Access Network provides pharmacies and medical facilities with professionally trained interpreters 24 hours a day, seven days a week through our centralized video language center, interpreting more than 150 different languages including American Sign Language (ASL) via real-time, interactive video technology.

Captions for Ipods?
Apple applies for synchronized lyric patent..
The latest crop of Apple patents has been flooding the Internet once again giving us a glimpse of what could be going on behind the scenes at Apple. Mobile devices seem to be a big focus, with a new one focusing on the display of synchronized lyrics on mobile devices.
Ars technica article July 20 2007

Granholm Signs Laws Expanding Rights of Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Qualified Interpreters Now Required in All Circumstances Specified by Americans with Disabilities Act
"To meet the demand, interpreters in the future will need to be better educated, possess more specialized skills, and will be required to meet more stringent certification criteria..."more from Mich Dept Labor & Economic Growth website 06/29/07

FYI...The issue
Attending the R.I.D. conference in San Francisco in August the BIG legal buzz was the "non-compete" clause some of you may have as part of your employment contract. With the big pinch on local interpreting services to provide interpreters in a very skeletal market this issue rises quickly to the top....
Wikipedia has a pretty good definition of the subject if you are not clear on it here

In May of this year 4 VRS agencies filed petitions with the FCC to take up this issue.
Hands On Video Relay Services (“Hands On”) of Rocklin, California, along with four other Video Relay Service providers has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to declare the practice of imposing non-competition agreements on video interpreters unreasonable. HOVRS press release
Here is the petition.
Take a look.
Sorenson has filed a motion to dismiss the "non compete" petition
See the document
Now the FCC is taking comments regarding the "non compete" issue
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau seeks comment on petition for declaratory ruling regarding video relay service (VRS) provider employment contracts with VRS communication assistants (CAs)
See the FCC press release (pdf)
Now that the rate for Sorenson has been frozen and there could be more funding on the way...
a vlogger suggests them to
" Show me the money" Take a look.

FCC freezes VRS rate…
The order has been issued-same until…NECA says;

We conclude, however, that we will continue the 2006-2007 compensation rates until such time as new cost recovery methodologies are adopted and effective pursuant to the 2006 TRS Cost Recovery FNPRM and new rates are adopted pursuant to such methodologies.
Check back for updates....My posted- letter-6/12

To compete...
or not compete, that is the question

Answer?
According to filers that take issue with the non-compete clause,the non-compete is;
overbroad, unreasonable, harmful to qualified ASL interpreters and consumers,.
inhibit the development of a competitive VRS market. (monopoly)and currently there is a deficit of qualified interpreters and the use of non-compete provisions exacerbates this problem by artificially decreasing the number of qualified interpreters that would otherwise be available for hire as VRS interpreters.
Thus concluding;
The Commission should exercise its authority and issue a declaratory ruling that non-compete provisions in VRS interpreter employment contracts, like the one at issue here, are void as a matter of public policy.

Read and decide for yourself if you think the non-compete clause is appropriate.

READ MORE FINDINGS at the FCC site

Read FCC postings
(CG 03-123 Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities.)
1)http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi
2) enter Proceeding 03-123
3) leave remaining form blank
4) click bottom lower left “retrieve document list”

VRS goes postal...
Spacenet Inc. to hook Postal Service up with broadband
Spacenet has teamed up with Verizon Business to deploy a satellite network that will provide broadband communications for 5,000 U.S. Postal Service sites.
The McLean-based company said the satellite will also serve portable devices the Postal Service uses in its 20 incident-response vehicles.Spacenet has already started installing the satellite, which will have a video relay service for deaf employees, real-time video broadcasting and Voice Over Internet Protocol telephone service.
The system is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.
Spacenet, which has 230 employees, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petah Tikva, Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILT).The company had $20 million in 2006 revenue, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, or nearly 40 percent of Gilat's overall revenue. Verizon Business is a subsidiary of New York, N.Y.-based Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).
source : Washington Business Journal

Sky Is No Limit as Verizon Business Deploys Satellite Network for U.S. Postal Service(R)
$25 Million Contract to Link About 5,000 USPS Sites Nationwide
Verizon Business will provide a new custom satellite network to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), enabling it to reliably and cost-effectively deliver voice and high-speed data to areas where wireline or wireless access is unavailable or too costly.
More on Verizons SATCOM at this blog
ReallyRocketScience.com

GoAmerica, Inc announced that it has agreement to acquire Hands On Video Relay Services Inc for $69 million in cash and stock.The Hackensack-based communications service provider for people with special needs said that it would pay $35 million in cash and 6.7 million common shares to the shareholders of closely-held Hands On Video Relay Services. The acquisition is dependant on GoAmerica’s successful acquisition of Verizon's Telecommunications Relay Services Division, the company mentioned. On a pro-forma basis, for the twelve-month period ended June 30, 2007, total revenues of the three parties was approximately $105 million.

TTY on Board
Beginning in September, OnStar and GM Mobility will partner to offer enhanced TTY services to deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired subscribers at little or no additional cost.
OnStar website