April 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
CLAY OWEN
Cingular Wireless
404-236-6153
[log in to unmask]
SUE MELIA
Ketchum
404-879-9248
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TARI SUSAN HARTMAN
EIN SOF Communications
310-578-5955
[log in to unmask]
ATLANTA, APRIL 17, 2003 - In the latest of their ongoing
disability-inclusive diversity
policy that values all customers, Cingular Wireless announced today's launch
of the
Voice ConnectT exemption program for customer with significant physical,
cognitive
and visual disabilities.
Voice Connect is the carrier's new voice portal, allowing customers to
access voice
and information services via simple voice commands. Voice Connect is
available to
Cingular customers whose disabilities restrict independent use of the
telephone.
For disability certified customers, the company is waiving the $4.99 monthly
charge
of this new national service (usual airtime charges apply).
According to Jeff Schlueter, executive director with Cingular Wireless, "At
Cingular
we believe communication unlocks potential in us all - whether we have
disabilities
or not. We are delighted to provide the Voice Connect exemption program. We
feel
it will provide our customers with disabilities a new freedom to access
wireless
communication services. Voice Connect is a breakthrough in reasonable
accommodations
that will increase productivity at work, school, home and play."
For customers with significant physical disabilities (such as
quadriplegia) that limit dialing ability, cognitive disabilities (such as
traumatic
brain
injury) that restrict the ability to sequence numbers, and for blind and low
vision
customers, the Voice Connect exemption program gives reasonable
accommodation a whole
new meaning.
According to Alex Valdez, award-winning comedian and disability awareness
speaker,
"As a person who does motivational speeches, I travel all over the country.
Voice
Connect begins to level the playing field and allows me to keep in touch
with my
clients anywhere and anytime. This company, and this service is very user
friendly."
Upon completion of certification and brief activation processes, Voice
Connect lets
customers place calls by speaking the name or phone number of the person
they want
to call, thus facilitating hands-free dialing. Subscribers can set up their
address
books by entering names in several convenient ways: by voice, via the
Internet at
www.cingular.com/voiceconnect
, or by synchronizing the service with their Microsoft Outlook or Palm
Desktop address
book.
According to Allan I. Bergman, CEO of the Brain Injury Association of
America, "We
applaud Cingular Wireless for taking this initiative that is mindful of
customers
with cognitive disabilities such as acquired brain injuries who have
difficulty with
sequencing numbers."
In addition to voice dialing, Voice Connect allows customers to receive a
wide range
of business and recreational information including stock quotes, weather
reports,
news, sports, horoscopes, lottery results, TV dramas and movie information.
Marcie Roth, executive director of the National Spinal Cord Injury
Association states,
"Since Cingular's breakthrough Dan spot in the 2000 Super Bowl, the company
has a
proven track record of industry leadership with the disability community.
This Voice
Connect disability exemption program is yet one more innovative example."
To apply for the exemption, customers with disabilities should call
Cingular's National
Call Center for Disabilities at 866-241-6568.
Cingular's Voice Connect service is based on the Total Voice DialerT and
Total Voice
PortalT products offered by BeVocal, Inc., a pioneer and leader in providing
outsourced
VoiceXML-based solutions. BeVocal has worked closely with Cingular over the
past
year to improve Voice Connect, making it even faster, more accurate and
easier to
use for Cingular's subscribers with (and
without) disabilities nationwide.
In addition to Cingular Wireless Accessibility Task Force and their
award-winning
"Dan" commercial featuring Dan Keplinger, critically acclaimed artist with a
disability,
the company was among the first to offer bills in Braille and large print
alternate
formats, sponsor National Disability Mentoring Day, participate in the FCC's
Disability
and Consumer Advisory Committee, and establish a policy of partnering with
only TTY-compatible
phones to best serve their Deaf and hard of hearing customers.
ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS
Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE -
SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE - BLS), serves more than 22 million voice and data
customers
across the United States. A leader in mobile voice and data communications,
Cingular
is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover, the wireless plan that
lets
customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular provides cellular/PCS
service
in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate e-mail and
other advanced
data services through its GPRS and Mobitex packet data networks. Details of
the company
are available at
www.cingular.com
.
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