FCC LAUNCHES SUPPORT LINE FOR CONSUMERS WHO ARE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING USING AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE OVER VIDEOPHONE

PRESS RELEASE | June 10, 2014
Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554

FCC’s Video Consumer Support Service Is the First of Its Kind Among Federal Government Agencies

 Washington, D.C. – The FCC has launched a video consumer support service, the ASL Consumer Support Line, specifically designed to enable consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing to engage in a direct video call with a consumer specialist at the FCC. The service will allow deaf and hard of hearing consumers to communicate in their primary language, American Sign Language (ASL). Until now deaf and hard of hearing consumers only had the option to communicate using relay services or by filing a complaint form online.

The FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line, operated by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau’s Disability Rights Office, gives consumers using videophones direct access to the FCC through a ten-digit telephone number connecting them to an ASL Consumer Specialist between 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The ASL Consumer Specialist will be able to assist consumers with filing informal complaints. In addition, the Specialist can help consumers obtain information in response to inquiries on a wide range of disability-related matters, such as telecommunications relay service (TRS), closed captioning and access to emergency information on television, and general telecommunication matters, such as slamming, Do-Not-Call telemarketing violations and broadband services.

ASL Consumer Support Line Call 844-4-FCC-ASL (844-432-2275) or 202-810-0444 

Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) 

Visit http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/disability-rights-office to watch an ASL web video about the ASL Consumer Support Line. 

About the Disability Rights Office (DRO): DRO addresses disability-related telecommunications matters, including but not limited to: TRS; access to telecommunications and advanced communications equipment and services by persons with disabilities; access to emergency information; and closed captioning. 

For more information about DRO, visit: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/disability-rights-office. 

Learn more about the FCC at www.fcc.gov.

http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adds-american-sign-language-consumer-support-line-videophone