Jack.O'keeffe@p0.f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Jack O'keeffe) (05/30/91)
Index Number: 15855 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Do any SilentTalkers have first hand info about a TDD relay service called "TISD"?? It is located in Indianapolis, and appears to be a commercial service offering to relay interstate TDD telephone calls to and from voice phones. I have a flyer from them proclaiming: "NEW SERVICE AVAILABLE" "TISD MAKES CALLING STATE TO STATE MUCH EASIER!" I've been looking for an alternative since, despite the ADA mandate, the AT&T Pennsylvania Relay still refuses to relay interstate calls. This TISD service appears rather pricey, asking up front for a $20 "processing fee" (and $1 extra for MC or Visa). And their charge of .45 per minute of call time ($27/hour - wow!) is more than four times what MCI now charges me with no discount. They must think deaf folks are all wealthy :-) It sure seems to do violence to the ADA concept of "functional equivalency" for service and price. I'd really like to see an evaluation from anyone here who has used this service or otherwise has first hand knowledge about TISD. ... Caveat Emptor! -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!26.0!Jack.O'keeffe Internet: Jack.O'keeffe@p0.f26.n129.z1.fidonet.org
jhall@ihlpm.att.com (John R Hall) (06/02/91)
Index Number: 15934 I called up TISD a couple of months ago to enquire about their service. I wanted to know who runs the business, if it was a for-profit or volunteer operation, and details about billing. The operator I spoke to could not or would not provide any of this information. She said I would need to talk to the president of the company, so she took my name and number and said he would call me. I have not heard from him yet. This might have something to do with me saying I work for AT&T, although I was not calling in an official company capacity. Based on that encounter, the lack of information in response to my questions, and the very high price of this service, I decided not to recommend it to my Deaf friends. As far as state relays being able to make out of state calls, this is a restriction based on state- by-state legislation. It is not a technical restriction of the equipment nor a requirement or desire of the relay service provider (such as AT&T). Obviously, this issue will have to be resolved before the ADA deadline of July 26, 1993. Until the relay issue is resolved, though, one alternative method you might try is to use call forwarding. Since there is a monthly charge for call forwarding from your local telephone company, you would have to decide for yourself whether it is worth it. Basically, you would forward your phone to the out-of-state destination that you wish to call. Then you call your state relay service and have them call your number which then gets forwarded. This method is not fool-proof. --John