Sprint focuses on protection of Internet Relay service for deaf and hard of hearing community

From: Sprint - Nov 23, 2005

Sprint focuses on protection of Internet Relay service for deaf and hard of hearing community

As the leading provider of relay services in the United States, Sprint is concerned about the inappropriate use of Internet Relay services that has targeted the business community. Sprint is and will continue to be actively involved in discussions with other relay providers about this issue, and has taken steps to help protect the integrity of the service.

On Tuesday, November 22, Sprint implemented a more robust solution to ensure that those in the deaf and hard of hearing community who rely on Sprint IP Relay service will continue to enjoy the ease of use in connecting and placing confidential calls to hearing friends, family and businesses.

"Our priority, of course, is to protect the integrity of Sprint IP Relay and the confidentiality of our customers," said Mike Ligas, director of Sprint Relay. "There are obvious signs that a caller may be inappropriately using Sprint IP Relay. Our communication assistants will watch for such signs and alert their supervisor if they are concerned about the validity of the call. The supervisor will review the conversation and may issue an "advisory" to the recipient of the call, based on specific criteria. Then it is the recipient’s decision whether or not to continue the call."

Andy Lange, president of the National Association for the Deaf added, "Sprint has discussed their process with us and we think the approach is a positive step and will still maintain the confidentiality of those who need to use relay services. We realize it is a delicate issue and we appreciate Sprint’s continuing attention to making sure relay services are available to the deaf and hard of hearing community when they need them."

Stephanie Taliaferro
Sprint Media Relations
6220 Sprint Parkway
Mailstop KSOPHD0302-3B752
Overland Park, KS 66251
(913) 794-3658 phone
(913) 794-0408 fax
stephanie.c.taliaferro@sprint.com
www.sprint.com