Complaint Filed Against Sorenson
Three Video Relay Services [VRS] companies – Purple Communications, SnapVRS and CSDVRS has filed a complaint with the Federal Communicatons Commission [FCC], against Sorenson Communications, Inc.
They are requesting that the FCC order Sorenson to halt their alleged non-compliance with the 10 digit number mandate, and degradation of service quality. In their legal brief to the FCC, they state the following:
Sorenson has knowingly and willfully taken action to degrade its videophone [VP] equipment’s ability to fully connect with the services and equipment of other providers. Sorenson’s actions are plainly anti-competitive and, and among other things, present a serious risk to the ability of providers effectively to connect consumers to emergency services.
They accuse Sorenson of hiding the Caller ID in proprietary and non-standard data, to ensure that only Sorenson will get the Caller ID.
In addition, called parties from the Sorenson VP do not receive caller ID — even when making a VRS call through Sorenson — the lone exception being when there is a point-to-point call between two Sorenson VPs.
What does this mean? It means two things – other VP users and VRS providers will only be able to see the IP address, not the 10 digit number. By allegedly doing this, Sorenson is preventing the deaf consumers of having equivalent access to telephone features that hearing persons are able to use. Furthermore, this also means that when Caller IDs are not shown to other VRS providers (that are not Sorenson), this will cause potentially delayed and even refusal of 911 calls.
If true, this not only violates the FCC’s mandates, but also violates the American Disabilities Act and puts VRS users at risk.
The three VRS companies believe Sorenson is deliberately doing this based on two reasons:
- Sorenson is allegedly hiding the Caller ID in proprietary and non-standard data.
- Sorenson has ignored repeated requests for clarification from other companies on this matter, with the exception of responding once, pointing to a still pending proposal, ‘Relay Provider Interface’.
In the legal brief, the plantiffs state that while it is true that the proposal will resolve this matter, it is still awaiting FCC’s response. The VP consumers cannot afford delays on the Caller ID matter, especially when it comes to being able to make emergency calls.
Not only that, but ironically in response to the plantiffs’ concerns, Sorenson clearly exhibited knowledge of industry standards and protocols, which gives them no excuse for not complying.
This is going to be very interesting to watch as it unfolds. If the allegations are true – which I believe to be – their conduct is absolutely deplorable and not only does Sorenson deserve this complaint, but they also deserve a mass exodus of their consumers.
Note: I contacted Sorenson this morning asking for comments on this. So far I have not gotten any.
UPDATE: Sorenson responded to my email and said they had no comment on this matter.
29 Comments
Comments are closed.
Lack of info... said,
June 19, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Provide us a link…
iballoon said,
June 19, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Ooo, I never think of that as I should test call my vp to my mobile phone if the number actual show up.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 19, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Sure.
Here’s the link the complaint: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520222403
tayler said,
June 19, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Wow. If true, Sorenson just seems unable to stay away from shady practices. Don’t they get tired of the negative publicity and say, enough, it’s time to pull our act together and do the right thing? It’s clear to me they’re exploiting the deaf community’s ignorance and/or apathy. In such cases, it’s FCC’s duty to step in and protect the consumers.
Valhallian said,
June 19, 2009 at 4:51 pm
That is no surprise, they have been looking out for their own pockets before they look out for deaf people since that company was formed and I usually pick on the deaf employees and contractors of Sorenson that they sold their deaf souls as they are promoting a company that does not look out for deaf people first and that started way back to when they did not allow interoperability and forced deaf people to wait hours and hours for a VI. That in itself hurt the deaf people more than it helped them the way I saw it. It is my belief that this trend only continues and will continue as long as you guys allow it. If you want it stopped, then you need to boycott them as well as quit working for them.
This is my own opinion and my own only when I say this but I know some of you get a check from them and it puts food on the table for you and that is exactly what Sorenson is counting on to get deaf people to work for them, to sell their deaf souls so that hearing people can continue to deepen their pockets from these profits! You guys are getting the short end of the stick and just do not realize it unfortunately.
tayler said,
June 19, 2009 at 5:25 pm
V,
“…I usually pick on the deaf employees and contractors of Sorenson that they sold their deaf souls….”
You have guts that I do not!
I understand that, for some, Sorenson is the only employment they could find and they have families to support. That’s why I’ve refrained from saying those things. It might be a good idea to, rather than focusing your energy on the “laborers”, channel it to the policymakers. The corporation could start on a better path which respects the entire community making it a worthy and satisfying workplace.
Brian M said,
June 19, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Thank you for make this blog…
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 19, 2009 at 8:31 pm
FYI – I just updated my blog post. I got a response from Sorenson.
White Ghost said,
June 19, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Well, I am not surprised about Sorenson’s latest response. As far as I know it’s gonna be a sticky situation.
I believe that Sorenson is trying to shield anyone’s IP address/es for a particular reason. So they are trying to be vigilant with people’s IP address/es in order to protect from the Identity Thieves and other reasons such as Scams/hackers.
So, perhaps it’s gonna be the cyber wars nowadays…….
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 19, 2009 at 9:52 pm
White Ghost,
No. Sorenson is SHOWING the IP addresses. With the caller id, people won’t see that anymore. They will instead see the name of the person who’s calling.
You have a very good point about he scammers/hackers… which is another reason why Sorenson needs to comply with FCC’s mandate, if the 3 VRS companies’ accusations are true.
Thinking said,
June 19, 2009 at 10:03 pm
If that’s true, Sorenson is playing with our lives (as it relates to getting 911 services in emergencies)
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 19, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Yup.
White Ghost said,
June 19, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Well, *if* the caller IDs and IP addresses are shown that it’s compatible, we would have suffered….or go through into hell.
FYI-Man said,
June 20, 2009 at 12:02 am
You will find that Sorenson is not the only company that is playing dirty VRS business. SnapVRS, CSDVRS Purple Communications and including Sorenson are playing dirty by creating “manufacturing minutes”. What it means that they have their deaf employees or subcontractors to call their company’s hearing employees to rack up the minutes. Who suffers the most? Of course, deaf consumers because they get wait a long time to get an interpreter thru one of VRS provider just because their employees or subcontractors are making calls to increase the traffic.
Purple / SnapVRS / CDVRS files petition againist Sorenson - AllDeaf.com said,
June 20, 2009 at 10:36 am
[...] to ask about the issue, but have been brushed aside by Sorenson with a "no comment", see: Complaint Filed Against Sorenson The Deaf Edge Even after filing the complaint, I am continuing to communicate with Sorenson and keeping alive [...]
Jeff Rosen said,
June 20, 2009 at 10:59 am
Pardon me, FYI-Man, but I would like to caution you about throwing out allegations. I can only speak for Snap!VRS as their counsel, but we are well recognized by TRS regulators and consumers for operating a fully ethical business. We do not manufacture minutes. We have an average speed of answer of less than 20 seconds to connect with a video interpreter for most of our calls and sometimes as low as 3 seconds. If people care about the long term health of VRS, I encourage them to be clear about exactly what practices cause problems rather than speaking generally and saying everybody in the VRS business is suspicious. When we do that, it feeds into a perception by Congress and some officials at the FCC that VRS is not working rught and should be folded down into a limited program like tty relay. Thats not good for consumers. VRS has been such a big plus for our community, lets carefully tend to its evolution and continue to support deaf access, choices and opportunities. This careful growth includes identifying to the FCC specific bad practices like manufacturing minutes when we see examples of it happening and speaking out against non-compliant vp technology as Snap!VRS and others have gone on the record about Sorenson’s vps failure to pass through phone numbers to hearing people or deaf people with different vps.
-Jeff Rosen
Anonymous said,
June 20, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I hate to be the one swimming against the anti-Sorenson tide here, but for what it’s worth: I have always been a satisfied Sorenson customer. Sorenson was a pioneer in telecommunications at a time no one else was doing it. They were the first to come out with the VP-100 videophone. it was free. technicians come to your house and set it up for free, and explain how to use it. they’re pleasant and courteous. service calls to the tech center are answered and taken care of promptly. I’ve had few to no complaints with the quality of interpreting services. Obviously, some are not as skilled as others, but that’s true of anyVRS company. There’s nothing wrong with Sorenson making money from what they do. Staff and interpreters are entitled to make a living just like everybody else. Sorenson provides training to its interpreters so that they can continue to improve their skills and even become RID certified if they’re not already. I have several friends working in Sorenson call centers and trust me, they are so swamped with calls there’s no need to manufacture minutes. Yet, there’s no significant wait time either because they have call centers all over the country. Sorenson hires deaf people who are qualified. I’ve known other VRS providers who hire deaf bodies, not qualified people. I’m not aware of the interface problems that are referred to in this blog. If Sorenson is not complying with the FCC mandate, that’s one thing. Otherwise, they are doing a good job serving deaf people, in my opinion.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 20, 2009 at 12:41 pm
You’re lucky … because not everyone shares the experience you’ve had with Sorenson.
Deaf Republican said,
June 20, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Amazing, we have been complaining against Sorenson for the past three years yet Sorenson still holds 80% marketshare in VRS. It means we deaf people complain against Sorenson and we still use Sorenson.
For FYI-Man said,
June 21, 2009 at 8:07 am
FYI-Man made an excellent point even though Jeff Rosen claimed “we do not manufacture minutes.”
There is no way to prove it….so how about proposing that all VRS employees and subcontractors are exempted from the minute reimbursement to their VRS companies from FCC. These minutes to be paid by FCC to VRS companies are solely based on anyone but the employees or subcontractors of VRS company?
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 21, 2009 at 3:44 pm
That makes absolutely no sense. You are suggesting that the VRS do not make money at all… because where else would the minutes’ reimbursement go?
Katie said,
June 21, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Okay, I guess I don’t understand. What is so wrong with Sorenson? I mean, I sure would like to get a job with Sorenson, but not if it means I’m going to have a black name.
How exactly do they not look out for deaf people?
Are there any links/posts you know of that explain this in a fairly systematic way, rather than just opinion?
What is better about the other VRS companies?
I would LOVE to interpret in VRS, because the leap in your skills is just phenomenal.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 21, 2009 at 7:12 pm
If my blog post above doesn’t tell you why so many people dislike Sorenson, then nothing I or anyone else say will make it clear to you.
Wills said,
June 22, 2009 at 8:09 am
Actually, that is inaccurate. CSD was the first company to come out with VRS. Being a non-profit organization serving Deaf people, they were unable to compete with Sorenson’s very deep pockets and large bench of investors. Sorenson is, no doubt, in the business of making money, as evidenced by their cut-throat, and sometimes very shady business practices. They have done a good job of scaring consumers in using their products and ignoring FCC regulations regarding inoperability. I have to admit, if their goal was to make hundreds of millions off of this population, they did a very good job.
Too bad that it is going to take a long time to educate the many consumers who make up the 80% market share that Sorenson thanks all of you for on behalf of their venture capitalists.
Anonymous said,
June 22, 2009 at 8:14 am
About the time you guys finally woke up and know about Sorenson’s game. I have known for 5+ years. I refused to use the SorensonVRS.
Purple-User said,
June 22, 2009 at 8:24 am
I want to tell you “FYI-Man”, only ONE VRS company is operating a completely ethical business. ONLY ONE! Sad to say, it’s SnapVRS. Why am I disappointed? I want to say Purple but I can’t.
SorensonVRS, Purple, CSDVRS, HawkVRS, blah, and so on have been abused the system because they are getting greed with $$$. They are not out there with ONE goal “Provide the services to Deaf needs”
I wish that all VRS have Jeff Rosen-clone and make sure their VRS comply the rules.
Elizabeth said,
June 22, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Well said Jeff! As an ethical interpreter, I can tell you I would not work for a company with that type of impropriety! I appreciate SNAP!VRS and its commitment to remain aboveboard in its practices.
For Deaf Pundit said,
June 23, 2009 at 8:57 pm
You did not understand my proposal.
To make things more clear for you….in plain English.
1. VRS can’t make $ from their own employees using their own VRS services.
2. VRS makes $ from anyone using their VRS services.
Example, you do not work for SnapVRS you call SnapVRS and SnapVRS makes $. Jeff Rosen works for SnapVRS he uses SnapVRS service and SnapVRS does not get $.
I don’t think this is a problem for any VRS providers. Let customers be the ones they depend on and make $.
Got it??????
For Deaf Pundit said,
June 23, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Correction:
Let customers be the ones VRS providers depend on and make $.