Since I last wrote about CapTel captioned telephone service, a dozen additional states have started offering this vital lifeline for hard-of-hearing consumers. To my chagrin, my home state of Massachusetts now is one of only six states in the union that have not approved it. For a state that prides itself in being among the technology leaders in the U.S., this is a huge embarrassment. I learned last week that my state legislature is finally considering legislation that will enable CapTel service for residents through the public relay service. It turns out the state senator from my district, State Sen. Cynthia Creem, is on the joint committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy that is considering SB#1943, which will enable the service by allowing a relay center based outside the state to process CapTel calls. I emailed Sen. Creem's office to find out her position and lobby her to push it through to passage. I got an email back telling me that I won't get my questions answered until either she or a staff member responds to me via the U.S. mail at some point. It's not reassuring that my state senator prefers snail mail to email, as it makes me wonder how sensitive she will be to the need for a newfangled electronic solution for her hard-of-hearing constituents. Especially when the overall legislature - including the committe she is on - has moved at its own snail's pace over the past several years.
The email said I could call her office on the phone, but I dislike using the phone because I'm hearing impaired. That's why I find the CapTel service so exciting. I've seen a demonstration, and it has state-of-the-art voice-recognition software which enables human operators in relay centers to provide real-time captioning on an LCD on your phone, with accuracy as good as what you get on the closed captioning on your TV. It will be a boon to people who are unproductive at work because they can't hear well on the phone. Forty-four other states offer it, so I'm hoping my Massachusetts legislature will finally enable it here. If you're in Massachusetts, call or write your representative or a member of the commmittee. I'm not holding my breath though, as I first wrote about this issue a year and a half ago.
Posted by David at 01:40 PM on May 17, 2007 in CAPTIONING, ISSUES & ADVOCACY
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Why has MA not allowed "CapTel" for residential people that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing?
New technology but only for federal employees in MA. Previously with Native Americans and veterans.
TTY's are a cumbersome and slow!
How about expanding this blog for Captioning to include everyday realtime captioning (CART) that we all need for "life."
CART is used by HOH, deafened, and deaf alike, as well as by people with CI's, and it's appreciated by most hearing people who want to read the words too, and have an immediate transcript.
There are so many places where CART (in the same room, provided by a qualified CART professional; or remotely with available technologies) is not 'heard of' yet! Let's see what we can do together.
LS
