Hi, Sheila and all. Concerning the free use of calling Information by the
blind, this was actually a deal made by James Gashel and Joyce Scanlan of
the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) during the early 1980's when I
was heavily involved in the organization. This was when there was just one
phone company (Ma Bell, if anyone remembers), and my memory from reading
about it at the time was that negotiations were tough. What was even
tougher was getting the deal passed as a resolution at the NFB convention.
A sizable group of the membership and some state chapter leaders felt that
at a time when the NFB was trying to say that blind people were like
everybody else, we shouldn't be seeking specialized privileges. After the
phone industry was deregulated by court order in 1984, the new Baby Bells
(with some lobbying by the NFB and others, I presume) kept the deal intact.
Sprint was never a part of this deal, because the company was not affiliated
with any of the Bell Companies, and I don't even think it existed as a
company at the time. While I suspect the ADA would apply in this area now,
someone would probably have to raise a court challenge to do it. I wonder
if any members of the NFB would now be interested in negotiating a deal with
Sprint in this area.
One other note: according to NPR (National Public Radio), over 10 million
people registered with the FTC to have their numbers taken off of
telemarketing lists the first day the option became available. Because of
the numbers and the threat to their businesses, expect the telemarketing
industry to mount a legal challenge based on the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. I know that in the past, the U.S. Suppreme Court has given
commercial speech all of the rights as noncommercial speech, but a
non-decision released at the end of the last term may signal a rethinking of
the Court on this issue.
That's it for now. Take care.
Ted Chittenden
>From: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>CC: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: FTC Do Not Call List
>Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 13:03:42 EDT
>
>Hello, Ted:
>I'm a 'newbie' to this list but I registered my main phone, fax line, and
>even my cell, last Friday, all online on the gov's DNC list. I tend to
>lose
>track of paperwork, so I didn't print the Registration Confirmations, but
>rather
>moved all three to a file in Word. My gurus in the telemarketing industry
>have
>suggested that both direct mail and cell phone marketing calls will be the
>next targets for these nuisance callers.
>
>Speaking of cellphones, I have a Sprint PCS plan but they do not provide
>free
>Directory Assistance for the blind as SBC and AT&T do on my land lines.
>The
>Sprint rep said "we're not required to do this." Maybe I'm a dreamer, but
>access is access in my book. Granted, I have voice command on the cell,
>with a
>dozen or so names pre-programmed by a friend, so I can just say a name and
>it
>dials the number. It's those infrequent times I need a number that are
>annoying. Pay phones are becoming less available with the influx of the
>cellular
>market, so my options are fewer. Spring does furnish my monthly statement
>in a
>bed-sheet size format (it's also available in Braille) I'm told.
>
>Has anyone ever asked someone from the FCC about free DA for blind
>cellphone
>users? Is it worth anyone's time to put a dog in that fight? Just
>curious.
>At $1.25 a DA call, it can add up.
>
>Sheila
>Sheila R. Ashcraft, eBlind! Outreach Coordinator
>PO Box 430209, Pontiac, MI 48343-0209
>(248) 334-4329 Voice (248) 334-2226 Fax
>e-Mail Address: [log in to unmask]
>(If this e-mail requires a response, please do so promptly. Thanks.)
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