Net Widens Phone Options for Deaf

Wired News: Net Widens Phone Options for Deaf

This news about AT&T's recent launch of its Video Relay Service, another option for deaf and hearing-impaired people to communicate with others, is good news, provided that you have a PC, webcam, and a high-speed internet connection. Most of my deaf friends don't have this yet. According to the article, with the above-mentioned configuration, "a deaf person signs in American Sign Language to an interpreter. The interpreter then speaks to the hearing person on the other end of the line."

The most common method of communication for deaf and hearing-impaired people is to type a message in a TTY or a TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf), which transmits it to an operator, who then relays the message to a hearing person on the other end.

Promising news.