Sign Up for the New CSDVRS Giveaway

From: CSD - Jun 19, 2006

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT                        Release Date: June 19, 2006
                                                                                 Contact: Rick Norris
                                                                                 CSD Communications Office
                                                                                 rnorris@c-s-d.org
 
 

CSDVRS to Give Out Prizes
as Part of New ‘Freedom’ Promotion
 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — To celebrate implementation of the Federal Communication Commission’s interoperability ruling, CSD is giving away prizes in the “CSDVRS Freedom” giveaway.
 
Video relay service (VRS) interoperability will officially take effect in July. This means all VRS callers will be able to select their preferred service provider. Regardless of the type of video equipment they have (D-Link, Web cam, VP-100, etc.), all VRS callers will now have access to CSDVRS.
 
In honor of consumers’ new freedom of choice, one grand prize winner will receive a new Sony VIAO laptop with built-in Web cam. Each of five second prize winners will receive a BlackBerry 7250 pager with a one-year plan from Sprint. Copies of the CSD history book, “Seeing a Need” — personally signed by Benjamin J. Soukup, CSD chief executive officer — will be distributed to 50 third prize winners.
 
Additionally, the first 1,000 people to participate in the promotion will receive free personal 800 VRS numbers, and all contest participants will receive one free trial issue of SIGNews, the monthly newspaper for the signing community.
 
Follow just three steps to enter for a chance to win:
 
1.       Go to www.csdvrs.com/win
2.       Choose the appropriate connection, based on the equipment you use:
         a.  VP Users: Click “VP Dial” after ensuring your videophone is on.
         b.  Web Cam Users: Click “Web Dial.”
         c.  D-Link VP Users: Dial “csdvrs.tv” and provide the video interpreter with the password “Freedom.”
3.       After a brief wait, a CSDVRS interpreter will connect you to a Giveaway Representative. There be a quick survey and information on some exciting new developments in consumers’ freedom of choice — like how to get a personal 800 VRS number.
 
CSDVRS Freedom Giveaway representatives will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. CDT and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CDT beginning June 19 and ending Aug. 30. Winners will be announced on the CSDVRS Web site at noon on Friday, Sept. 1.
 
“As you know, CSD has always supported the consumer’s right to have the freedom of choosing the video relay service they prefer,” said Benjamin Soukup, CSD chief executive officer. “Because of this, I am pleased that all videophone users are now able to access CSDVRS, regardless of the equipment they use.”
 
For more information and to view a new video, please go to www.csdvrs.com/prizes.html .
 
About CSD – CSD is a private, nonprofit agency dedicated to providing quality services, ensuring public accessibility; and increasing awareness of issues affecting deaf and hard of hearing people and individuals with speech disabilities. For more information, please visit www.c-s-d.org.
 
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*     CSD ~ An Official Sponsor of the 2007 Winter Deaflympics