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Category: Phones
Phone Company: Lawsuit "improper and brazen"
AT&T is asking a judge to dismiss a Justice Dept. lawsuit against it for allegedly failing to stop swindlers from taking millions out of a service meant to benefit the deaf. The suit claims the company knew Nigerian con men were stealing from the IP Relay service, but did nothing about it. Instead, it knowingly asked for reimbursement of international calls that are not eligible for the reimbursement program. AT&T says it didn't know the calls - as much as 95% of all the calls - were being fabricated and the lawsuit is an “improper and brazen attempt to use the False Claims Act to litigate a garden-variety regulatory claim.” The case started as a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Constance Lyttle, a former worker at an AT&T call center. The FCC reimburses companies like AT&T about $1.30 per minute out of a fund created by fees placed on consumer phone bills.
T-Mobile Fined
The FCC is fining T-Mobile $819,000 for not offering enough phones that are hearing aid compatible. Agency rules require wireless device makers to produce a certain number of handsets that can work with hearing aids, but T-Mobile fell short of the requirement in 2009 and during most of 2010. The FCC's goal is to make sure hearing aid users offer a decent number of phone choices.
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New Phone/Hearing Aid Rules
The FCC has issued new rules about how phones interact with hearing aids in the US. The rules take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Manufacturers and major service providers will have 2 years to put the technical standards into place while smaller providers will have 27 months to do so. Read more details here.
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Feds go after AT&T
The Justice Dept. is suing AT&T for not stopping swindlers from taking millions out of a service meant to benefit the deaf. The Feds are joining a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Constance Lyttle, a former worker at an AT&T call center. Prosecutors say the phone company knowingly asked for reimbursement of calls not covered in the service. Many were placed by international callers using the service to buy things using stolen credit cards. As much as 95% of the calls were international and not eligible for the reimbursement program. The FCC reimburses companies like AT&T about $1.30 per minute out of a fund created by fees placed on consumer phone bills. AT&T says it didn't know the calls were being fabricated, but the FCC requires IP Relay providers to verify users' name and mailing address. The US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania says, "Those who misuse funds intended to benefit the hearing- and speech-impaired must be held accountable."
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Talking with Texts
Read about how cell phones are impacting deaf children in Uganda here.
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Smartphone Holder
There's a new motion tracking dock that should make apps like FaceTime easier to use. Swivl works with iPhone or any smartphone that is less than 11 millimeters thick. The motorized camera stand follows a users movements, guided by an infrared marker on a wearable Bluetooth mic (which is included). It's a little pricey at $159. Here's a video showing how it works.
Swivl by Satarii from Satarii on Vimeo.
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Silent Tweets
A app for deaf Australians works as a visual alert for emergency notices. Silent Tweets was created by Australian Communication Exchange and is free. It gives users warnings of regional emergencies, such as building evacuations or disaster announcements as well as updates on traffic and weather.
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Deaftel
A new Apple app called Deaftel is designed to “translates a hearing person’s voice into text during a phone call. Deaftel users can read and respond to the text message with their keyboard.” Founder Kunal Batra explains the voice recognition technology in the video below.
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Phone Service Tax
Nevada is increasing its monthly tax to pay for free video phone service for the deaf to 7 cents. The Public Utilities Commission had cut the rate down to 3 cents after it was 8 cents. After complaints, the Commission made a deal with the Disability Services Division to push it back up. The new rate kicks in this August. As many as 10,000 people use the free service each month.
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Phone Service Tax
Nevada is increasing its monthly tax to pay for free video phone service for the deaf to 7 cents. The Public Utilities Commission had cut the rate down to 3 cents after it was 8 cents. After complaints, the Commission made a deal with the Disability Services Division to push it back up. The new rate kicks in this August. As many as 10,000 people use the free service each month.
Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Related Blogs
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