Sprint to run relay
The company takes over
phone service for hearing- and
speech-impaired residents
The state has selected Sprint to replace Verizon Hawaii as the local provider of telephone services for hearing- and speech-impaired residents.
Sprint will begin providing telecommunications relay services July 1 in a three-year agreement. The Federal Communications Commission service mandated the service in 1991, and it is available in all states.
Verizon has been providing the service since 1989. Earlier this year, the statewide Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii asked the FCC not to recertify Verizon Hawaii for speech-to-speech Telephone Relay Service until it corrected alleged rules violations and operational deficiencies.
The service is meant to help an estimated 11,000 islanders with speech problems, such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy or a brain injury, to make phone calls. They can call 711 toll-free, and specially trained operators act as translators, relaying the caller's words.
Verizon contracts with AT&T, which uses operators in Virginia who do not understand pidgin and ethnic dialects or Hawaiian names and expressions, the assistive technology organization said.
Verizon has said it was not aware of complaints.
Verizon told the state Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 13 that it will exit the business of relay services because its equipment would not be able to accommodate new FCC requirements. In the 29 states where Verizon does business, Hawaii is the only state where the company provides relay services.
Only one other company, Hamilton Telephone Co., filed a competitive bid for the service after the state invited bids.
Sprint will be paid $1.90 a minute during each session.
Sprint began offering Sprint Relay in 1990 and provides the service in 28 other states plus Puerto Rico. Sprint said it will also provide video relay services in Hawaii, allowing a caller to communicate in sign language through a Web camera, through www.USAVRS .com.
Sprint said it will open a relay call center in Hawaii that will employ 20 local residents as communications assistants and administrative staff.
Under agreement with the state, Sprint will spend $100,000 each year for outreach and marketing efforts in Hawaii.
