GoAmerica gets go ahead on relay compensation

GoAmerica has received FCC certification and gained eligibility as an IP Relay and Video Relay Service provider for direct compensation from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund, the company said today.

The FCC certification is effective for five years. It covers current and prospective IP relay and VRS services offered by GoAmerica, which was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey. Currently the company’s services include its text-based i711.com services, which are accessible through various online portals. It supports AOL Instant Messenger, the T-Mobile Sidekick and BlackBerry wireless devices.
GoAmerica, which provides a wide range of wireless, relay and prepaid communications services customized for people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech impaired, will submit minutes directly to the TRS Fund for re-imbursement beginning this month. Traffic from i711.com, its text-based relay service, or IP Relay service, over the Internet, will be included. The change is not expected to impact the company’s gross margins from these services.

i711.com is a free service utilized by deaf callers using a Web-enabled computer or wireless handheld device to place calls, which are connected to a relay operator. The relay operator calls the voice number and then verbally speaks the text message typed by the deaf caller to the hearing recipient and types the hearing party's responses back to the deaf party. Relay providers such as GoAmerica receive reimbursement from a pool of funds collected from carriers by the FCC and administered by the National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA).

The American Speech Language and Hearing Association says, according to GoAmerica’s Web site, that there are about 28 million consumers in the U.S. who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. GoAmerica estimates that approximately 1 million of these 28 million people are profoundly deaf and unable to benefit from voice-based communications technologies. It targets those who historically have relied on TTY-type services to make and receive calls.