Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Lee Henderson Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Communications With The Deaf Message-ID: <3754@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 11 Feb 90 11:27:25 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 46 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 93, message 4 of 8 It is ironic that one of the reasons for the invention of the telephone was to improve communication among the deaf. The telephone now stands as one of the greatest barriers to communication with the deaf today. By some estimates there are perhaps two million deaf people that can't use the phone directly. One relatively recent improvement is the use of Telephone Devices for the Deaf (TDDs). These are basically dumb terminals with a single display line of 40 fluorescent anphanumeric characters. The connection to the telephone is by means of an acoustic coupler and proceeds by means of 45 baud, 5 bit baudot, carrierless FSK. Believe it or not this is adequate for interactive conversations at about 60 words per minute. New devices built to this standard are being built and sold today. There is little incentive to change to higher baud rates because 60 wpm is perfectly adequate for private conversations and there is already a large base of installed TDDs. I have occasion to talk to a deaf person on the opposite coast for several hours a month. The usual long-distance charges mount up quickly. While long distance discounts are available to deaf people, I am curious if even more cost-effective methods exist. Now my question to the group is this: Are there less expensive sub-voice-grade lines available or does Telex or TWX still exist for long-distance communication? [Moderator's Note: Actually, TDD's go back many years. The very early ones were simply telex-like devices; bulky and cumbersome, and they printed out on paper rather than LED's. AT&T's commitment to deaf people has a long history, beginning as you noted with Alex Bell, who was a teacher of deaf students. On the fiftieth anniversary of Alex's passing, Charles Brown, then chairman of Illinois Bell (and later chairman of AT&T) noted their continuing commitment by opening 800-855-1155; an operator-attended service where hearing-impaired persons may relay messages via their machines to operators for relay to people who can hear, for the price of what the call would cost otherwise. The service is still in operation; the operators answer with a TDD machine. Illinois Bell and most Bell Companies still provide 'special solutions' for handicapped people at no charge; devices such as flashing lights, special relays and toggle switches, etc. are constructed and/or donated by the Telephone Pioneers. Additionally, a local seven-digit number here connects to an Illinois Bell operator with a TDD who provides directory assistance, emergency call assistance and other operator functions. PT]