News

Ofcom are asking people to have their say by taking part in their new research project about the future of text relay and other services for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or with speech difficulties.

A major research project is about to start on the subject of text relay services. The review will consider how people who are deaf, hard of hearing  or have speech difficulties currently use communications services and what they need to be able to communicate effectively with other people.  The research is being carried out by Opinion Leader, an independent research company on behalf of Ofcom, the independent body that regulates the communications industry.

They are looking for the following people to help  with this research:

·           People who currently use text relay services

·           Non-users of text relay services who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech difficulties

·           People who have used other types of relay services

There are a number of different ways that you can take part in the research. These include:

·           Face-to-face interviews or small group discussions with communications support as required

·           Live, online group discussions

·           Questionnaire completed by text relay

·           Questionnaire completed online

·           Pen and paper questionnaire that you can send back in a prepaid envelope

People taking part in the face to face or online discussions will receive a payment of £35 as the interviews will take up to 1.5 hours . There is limited space, but all applicants will be contacted by return email.  They will do their very best to make sure you can take part in the manner of your preference.

If you are interested in taking part, please visit the registration page at:

www.oltextrelay.com

or write to: Jessica Irwin-Brown, Opinion Leader Relay Services Research Team

FREEPOST RSAB-RHBG-YKSZ, United Kingdom

QoS report now available

Click here to view the Quality of Service report forJuly 2010.

Direct text access numbers for organisations and relay QoS now available

To view the list of direct text access numbers for organisations and the Text Relay Quality of Service report for April 2010 go to Downloads.

Dealing with a call centre via a text relay can sometimes be a frustrating experience.  Recognising this a number of companies are now providing a direct text alternative.

QoS report now available

To view the Quality of Service report for January 2010 go to Downloads.

We are still seeing significantly more relay calls than normal. However our efforts to maintain the service and fact that more relay assistants have managed to get in today mean that the service levels are back to normal. We are sorry for any delays to your calls yesterday.

Along with other people across the country our relay assistants are having problems getting into work today

This means that we are not able to answer relay calls as fast as we normally do. Every effort is being made to maintain the level of our service including using people from the helpline and management team to man the relay. Unfortunately we are also seeing a significant increase in the number of relay calls so we apologise for any delays and ask that you bear with us while the bad weather continues.

If you're already online but know someone who's not, Get online day is the perfect opportunity to Pass IT on and encourage offline loved ones to attend a Get online day event for help and support with computers and the internet.

Get online day '09 aims to encourage thousands of people across England to join their friends and family online, making October 2009 the month they get to grips with computers and the internet.

For many of us using information technology and being online is part of our daily lives, saving us time, hassle and money. However, nearly one in four adults in England still aren’t online and don’t know where to turn to get started. UK Online Centres provide tools and advice making it easy for people to get online. 

Launching Get Online Day Martha Lane Fox, Britain’s first Digital Inclusion Champion, said, "Unfortunately it's the people facing the toughest times who could actually benefit the most from what technology has to offer - from saving money to finding information that could make their lives easier and cheaper. Get online day is a great way for off-line people to take the plunge and get started.”

Simon Milner, BT’s Director of Industry Policy said, “Get Online Day highlights the importance of the internet for all of us today, and the importance of people helping their friends and family to access the web. Improved confidence and greater independence are two very significant benefits of getting online and we encourage everyone to get involved. ”

Around 700 events will take place across England from 19 to 31 October giving everyone the opportunity to get involved and get themselves, or their off-line friends and family, into a UK online centre and onto the internet. To find out more and search for your nearest participating centre go to www.ukonlinecentres.com or call 0800 77 1234.

You can now register to be part of a trial Emergency SMS text

It is vitally important that everyone can get swift help in an emergency. So RNID and BT, along with the mobile network operators (O2, Orange, Vodafone and 3) and the emergency services, have developed a UK-wide system which will allow you to send an SMS text message to the 999 emergency services from a mobile phone.   Full user trials have started and we need many people with a hearing loss, or with speech impairments, to help test the service by using it if they need to make a real emergency call.

If you would like to take part then you can register via www.emergencySMS.org.uk  or text ‘Register’ and send it to 999.

You will be sent terms and conditions and, once you have accepted these, you will be able to use the service to make emergency SMS text calls.   

Please note, you will only have access to this service for the duration of the trials and, unless you register your mobile, you won’t be able to use SMS text to contact the emergency services.

Register to be part of a trial Emergency SMS text service from 14th September

It is vitally important that everyone can get swift help in an emergency. So RNID and BT, along with the mobile network operators and the emergency services, are developing a UK-wide system which will allow you to send an SMS text message to the 999 emergency services from a mobile phone.

Having successfully completed technical and expert usability tests, we now need to see how well the service works with real-life emergencies.  Full user trials will begin on 14 September and we need many people with a hearing loss, or with speech impairments, to help test the service by using it if they need to make a real emergency call.

If your mobile phone service is with O2, Orange, 3 or Vodafone, then you can take part in this trial.

Please don’t try to use the service before 14 September, but if you would like to take part then there are two ways to register for these user trials. You can either:

• Visit  www.emergencySMS.org.uk
• Or, text ‘Register’ and send it to 999, after 14 September

You will be sent terms and conditions and, once you have accepted these, you will be able to use the service to make emergency SMS text calls.   

Please note, you will only have access to this service for the duration of the trials and, unless you register your mobile, you won’t be able to use SMS text to contact the emergency services.

If this trial is a success then we hope that the new service will be launched in 2010.