Category Archives: Editorials/Guest Blogs

Editorial #65-FCC Proposes New Rules for 800 Numbers–Proposes Use of Local Numbers as Primary Numbers-Not 800/866/877 for VRS

The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on September 17, 2010. It should be published in the Federal Register anytime now to set the clock for comments and reply comments (within 30 and 45 days.)

In the discussion leading to the proposed rules, the FCC states that “our goal is to encourage iTRS users (current deaf and hard of hearing users who have a local number on the national data base) to use the local number as their primary—and in most cases exclusive—telephone number.” This could be interpreted to mean that the FCC wants to discourage VRS users from using 800/866/877 numbers as their primary number and to require everyone to use local numbers as their primary number. The 800/866/877 numbers will continue to be available using a different method.

The proposed rules are as follows:

The provision of 800/866/877 numbers shall not be automatic. This means local numbers will be given with each videophone, not 800/866/877 numbers.
The issuance of 800/866/877 numbers shall be provided by a toll free provider and be billed to the deaf/hard of hearing user. The VRS provider shall transfer the number to the toll free provider at the request of the deaf/hard of hearing user. This works the same way for hearing people today.
The FCC is not responsible for the cost of a 800/866/877 number and will not pay for any administration costs to any VRS provider.
The toll-free number if used, shall be tied (or mapped) to the deaf/hard of hearing user’s local number.

There are other items that the FCC wants comment on such as having a transition period to enable deaf/hard of hearing users who do not want to pay for a 800/866/877 number to inform their inbound callers of the change to a local number; doing an outreach program to educate consumers about the change in rules and other things.

Bear in mind these are “proposed’ rules. After comments, and reply comments, some of the proposed rules might change. It is now up to us all to comment to the FCC on these proposed rules. Dr. Z is of the opinion that those rules are fair, and functionally equivalent–being like what the hearing people have today. The transition period and the outreach is going to be important to be sure deaf and hard of hearing people do not lose their inbound calling capability if they do not switch to their local numbers.

The document can be found at the FCC website with this link.

Dr. Z (and the FCC) cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Editorial #64-A Race to a New Telecommunications Paradigm-A Guest Blog by Cousin Vinny

From time to time, Dr. Z puts up blogs from other bloggers–some of whom are independent of ZVRS but have thoughts that Dr. Z feels you all need to be aware of.

In our history, we have seen how new inventions or technologies have changed how people behave, think and live. The blog by Cousin Vinny is one example–he gives an insight into how he sees the VRS industry changing with what is coming down the road (some of which have come on the scene in recent months and weeks.) Recently, Dr. Z wrote a blog on “What will Videophones in the Future Look Like?” If you read Cousin Vinny’s blog and then read my blog, you will understand why things are happening the way they are.

A common term to describe a major change is “paradigm shift” which according to Wikipedia is “change in a fundamental model of events.” We have VRS as a fundamental model–the VRS industry is 10 years old today and the past few months we have seen many events that are accelerating the change, such as the FCC and the emergence of mobile devices.

To read Cousin Vinny’s blog, click this link.

To read Dr. Z’s editorial on what videophones in the future will look like, click this link.

You can read the text of the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry (NOI) with this link. The NOI asks a lot of questions that impact the industry.

Dr. Z wants to express his appreciation to Cousin Vinny for allowing him to share his blog. Note that he wrote this last June, not in recent days.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

ZVRS for the Apple iPod Touch-(Smartphone Update #4)

ZVRS has announced a new app for the Apple iPod Touch. This means you can make relay calls using ZVRS from an iPod Touch. You can download the app from the Apple iTunes store. It is a free app.

You can connect with other FaceTime users by their email addresses. Remember, it works with other FaceTime devices–meaning just Apple devices such as the iPod Touch and the iPhone 4–it will NOT work with other videophones such as the Z-series (Z-150, Z-340, Z-Ojo and the Z4, or the VP-200.) Be aware that to make video calls on the iPod Touch, you need to be in an area where there is wifi coverage.

The iPod Touch comes in 3 models, priced from $229 to $399, depending on how much memory you want. The amount of memory does not change the function of the iPod Touch, it just allows you to hold more videos, more music. For more info, go to the Apple website using this link.

For another video demonstrating the ZVRS app for the iPod touch click on this link. This video is not captioned yet.

For more information and FAQ’s on the ZVRS app for the iPod Touch, click on this link.

We are getting more independent in communication.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Editorial #63-FCC Settles Investigations of Purple Communications, Inc.; Settlement Requires Payments in Excess of $22 Million

The FCC, in the form of a consent decree, settled with Purple on FCC’s investigations of past practices of Purple.

Under the terms of the settlement, Purple must:

repay $18.5 million to the TRS Fund over a period of five years, plus an additional $3.1 million in interest and penalties;
make a $550,000 payment to the U.S. Treasury; and
adopt a detailed compliance plan designed to ensure that the company strictly adheres to the Commission’s TRS rules.

The $22 million will be paid over a period of 5 years and includes penalties and interest.

In addition, the compliance plan requires Purple to do the following:

appoint a compliance director
establish an FCC Regulatory Committee of its Board of Directors to ensure high-level management oversight of its compliance efforts
provide comprehensive training to all employees regarding FCC regulations
conduct detailed compliance reviews of all programs involving the generation of new TRS business
certify to the accuracy of its requests for reimbursement from the TRS Fund,
review those submissions for anomalous calling patterns that could indicate misuse of TRS, and immediately take steps to correct any incorrect reimbursement requests.

The documents can be found at the FCC website with the following links: (press release) (consent decree).

Dr. Z (and the FCC) cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

What Will Videophones in the Future Look Like?–Dr. Z and His Crystal Ball

Dr. Z is looking into his crystal ball.

The crystal ball gives us a beautiful view of the future of videophones.

No longer will we be limited to one videophone.

No longer will we need to walk to our videophone.

No longer will the videophone be put in the wrong room for its intended use.

By the time 2011 comes around, we will have a different videophone environment–one that the videophone is where you want it to be–on your person, in the right corner of your room, on your desk, not taking your TV away from you.

The mobile environment will be the glue that ties it all together—we will have a videophone that we will carry with us–it can be as small as a cell phone (Apple iPhone 4 or iPod Touch; Samsung Epic), or it can be like a tablet computer, like the Apple iPad. While the iPad does not yet have a front-facing camera, it soon will have–some of Apple’s competitors, such as Samsung are coming out with tablet computers that have a front-facing camera. All this means you will never be several feet away from your videophone.

Who will be providing all this? ZVRS will and it is ready–over the next few months–ZVRS will come out with solutions to make your video experience one that meets your needs! Look for them on this site, and on the ZVRS website (link).

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Editorial #62-Are You Chained to Your Videophone? Get a Z Life!-A Guest Editorial by Karen Putz

Karen Putz–one of ZVRS’ Sales Managers in Illinois is a well-known blogger and writer. Some of her articles are published in the local newspaper. She has written a fantastic blog on how one can “get a Z-Life.”

The link to the blog is as follows:

http://deafmomworld.com/are-you-chained-to-your-videophone-get-a-z-life/

You can also enjoy the other entries in her blog.

One may ask–what is a Z-life? It is a life full of choices in video communication and you can call at your convenience without being chained to where your videophone is located. The bottom line is INDEPENDENCE!

Dr. Z (and Karen) cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Editorial #61-FCC Website on VRS Matters Has Been Busy

While everyone was busy or vacationing over the Labor Day weekend–the FCC website had a lot of additions to it on the VRS NOI (Notice of Inquiry) (link). While the comment period expired on August 15th, there was still opportunity for others to reply to the comments and Dr. Z will list the links for you all to read. The reply to comments deadline was on September 2nd. The most contentious subjects involved reverse auctions and tiered rates.

Reply to Comments links:
Convo
CSDVRS, LLC
Purple
Say-Hey, Inc.
Snap
Sorenson
Verizon

In addition, there were some comments made by providers to the FCC Declaratory Ruling and other matters issued on May 27, 2010 (link). The links for such comments are listed below. The most contentious subject was regarding use of Canadian interpreters to facilitate VRS calls among Americans.

Comments to Declaratory Ruling, Order and NPRM for May 27, 2010 links:
ATT
Government of Canada
Interpretel, LLC and PAH! VRS
Purple
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
Sorenson
TDI, NAD and Other Consumer Organizations
Verizon

It is expected that in the near future, the FCC will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to propose rules that were reviewed during the Notice of Inquiry. After the comments to the proposed rules are reviewed, the FCC will then issue new rules that potentially could change how VRS is done here in America.

Dr. Z (and the FCC) cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Apple iPod Touch (It Can Do Video!)-An Update by Dr. Z (Smartphone Update #3)

Every now and then, a new gadget comes on the market. Dr. Z is always on the lookout for them, especially as to how they do video communication.

Now we have a new device while technically not a smartphone, it can do video. It is the Apple iPod Touch. It works just like the Apple iPhone 4, except that it cannot use a 3G phone network. If you have wifi coverage, the iPod Touch can function almost like a phone (you cannot dial using phone numbers, but you can do FaceTime for video communication using wifi.) The iPod Touch uses the same software for apps as the iPhone 4.

With the new version of iOS (the operating system that runs the iPod Touch and the iPhone 4), you can connect with other FaceTime users by their email addresses. Remember, it works with other FaceTime devices–meaning just Apple devices such as the iPod Touch and the iPhone 4–it will NOT work with other videophones such as the Z-series (Z-150, Z-340, Z-Ojo and the Z4, or the VP-200.)

Be aware that there are 4 models of the iPod–Shuffle, Nano, Classic and the Touch. Only the iPod Touch has video communication capability and be sure you are looking at the new version of the iPod Touch which has a front-facing camera. The old version of iPod Touch does not have a front-facing camera. Without a front-facing camera, you would not be able to do video communication.

(NOTE: The video has a small error–the iPhone 4 does not support 4G, only 3G.)

We are really getting independence in communication with all those devices coming on the market of late.

These are exciting times for video communication!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Samsung Epic-An Update by Dr. Z (Smartphone Update #2)

Every now and then, a new gadget comes on the market. Dr. Z is always on the lookout for them, especially as to how they do video communication.

Now we have a new smartphone with a front-facing camera–the Samsung Epic, sold by Sprint. The Epic has many of the similar features as the HTC EVO, previously made available by Sprint. The key difference between the Epic and the EVO and the iPhone 4 is that the Samsung Epic has a sliding keyboard. The keyboard is a tactile (raised keys) keyboard just like the Blackberry. When you need to use the keyboard to send an email, you just slid the keyboard out and type your message. At other times, you can use the touchscreen to do other things. At this time, it is the only touchscreen, with a tactile keyboard that also has a front-facing camera.

ZVRS is now developing an app called the “Mobile Z4” for the Samsung Epic. It will be ready in the fall. Dr. Z does not yet have details on this app and will make them available as soon as he becomes aware of them.

For a video on the “Mobile Z4”, click this link.

For more information on the Samsung Epic on the Sprint website, click this link.

For more reviews on the Samsung Epic, click the following links:
CNET Review
Digital Trends Review
Wirefly Review

There is a trade show in Berlin next week. More smartphones or tablets may be announced with a front-facing camera. Dr. Z will keep you all posted,.

These are exciting times for video communication!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.

Learn Along with Dr. Z–Lessons on ZVRS for the iPhone 4 and the Z4

Dr. Z has been getting inquiries to learn more about Z products so he developed a website to do just that.

It is a very simple self-guided website with links to learn things you want to know about ZVRS for the iPhone 4 as well as the Z4-The Flexible Videophone.

This is the link to the ZVRS for the iPhone 4 Lesson: ZVRS for the iPhone 4

This is the link to the Z4-The Flexible Videophone Lesson: Z4-The Flexible Videophone

Dr. Z will continually add more lessons for these products and services as well as other Z products and services.

Enjoy!!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.