DA 02-532
Released:  March 6, 2002

FCC ANNOUNCES MAY 3, 2002 AS THE DATE OF THE RESCHEDULED
 PUBLIC FORUM AND TECHNOLOGY EXPO ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICE (CC
Docket 98-67)

The Public Forum and Technology Expo on Telecommunications Relay Service
(TRS) originally scheduled for October 10, 2001 has been rescheduled to
Friday, May 3, 2002, from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. in the Commission Meeting
Room (TW-C305) and adjacent rooms at the Federal Communications Commission,
445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20554.  The Commission invites
interested persons to attend.

The purpose of this Forum and Expo is for TRS administrators, consumers,
providers, and Commission staff to share information on, among other things,
the current state of TRS and new TRS technologies.  The Forum will offer an
opportunity for everyone, including consumers and industry representatives,
to exchange ideas with the Commission and TRS administrators and to have
their comments become part of the public record in CC Docket 98-67.  In
conjunction with the Forum, the FCC's Consumer Information Bureau will hold
a Technology Expo to showcase TRS and other accessibility technologies.

The agenda for the Forum has not been finalized.  It will be announced in a
subsequent Public Notice.

TRS is required by Title IV of the Americans With Disabilities Act (Section
225 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended).  TRS now utilizes a
variety of services to facilitate telecommunications between persons with
hearing or speech disabilities and persons who use voice telephones.  Relay
services between TTY and voice users utilize a relay operator, called a
Communications Assistant (CA) to read what the TTY user
types to a voice telephone user and to type responses back to the TTY user
throughout the duration of a telephone call.  Speech-to-speech (STS) relay
utilizes CAs trained in understanding certain speech patterns to relay
conversations for people with speech disabilities.  Video relay services
(VRS) utilize CAs skilled in sign language to relay conversations for users
of American Sign Language.

The meeting will be broadcast on the Internet in Real Audio/Real Video
format with open captioning at www.fcc.gov/realaudio.  Sign language
interpretation, open captioning and assistive listening devices will be
provided.  Meeting agenda and handout materials will be provided in
accessible formats.  The meeting site is fully accessible to people using
wheelchairs or other mobility aids.  Additional accessibility requests can
be e-mailed to [log in to unmask], or to Helen Chang, Section 504 Officer, at
[log in to unmask] (phone: (202) 418-0424 voice, (202) 418-0432 TTY).
For more information about the TRS Forum or Technology Expo, including how
to exhibit at the Expo, please contact Suzanne Perrin at (202) 418-2874
(voice), (202) 418-1085 (TTY), or [log in to unmask] (email).





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