‘No problems have surfaced so far’ with the telecom relay service...

register 10-digit numbers. Users without 10-digit numbers won’t be able to make calls, though companies are still registering them. Many relay companies and consumer advocates had feared awareness about the transition was low, especially among users of IP text relay services (CD Sept 28 p5). Regulatory Affairs Manager Mike Maddix of Sorenson Communications, the largest relay provider in the U.S., said the transition is “going well.” Sorenson’s call answer speed is consistent with normal levels, and the company is handling new registration requests as they come in, he said. Hamilton Relay’s “initial impression is that the process is going smoothly,” said their lawyer, Wilkinson Barker’s David O'Connor. Consumer advocates for the deaf “are currently monitoring the situation,” said Executive Director Claude Stout of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Some concerns remain: A lot of those who seldom make text relay calls “may not be yet registered with any one of the Internet Protocol relay service providers,” he said. “It will be a confusing and frustrating time for us, but the FCC has made sure that we can register with our chosen provider in order to make IP text relay calls.” Also, consumer groups have a petition pending before the FCC related to people using 800/866 toll-free numbers, Stout noted: “Deaf and hard of hearing Americans that opt to use toll-free numbers instead of the local ten digit numbers from their VRS providers for the VP devices they use, will learn that their devices will not be interoperable during peer-to- peer video calls with devices from different providers.”