• NFBCA FOREWORD

• EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

• A NOTE TO READERS

• DESIRED OUTCOMES

• RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Preamble
  • For Immediate Action
  • Medium Term Options

• TERMS USED

• INTRODUCTION

• THE PROBLEM

• BACKGROUND
  • General
  • Background of National Relay Service and Equipment Program

• DISCUSSION OF PROTOCOLS USED BY TEXT TELEPHONES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

• DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ACCESSIBLE TEXT TELEPHONE

• POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• THE TESTING, MODIFICATION AND APPROVAL CHALLENGE

• OTHER ISSUES OF WIDER ACCESSIBILITY

• ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS CONTACTED BY THE RESEARCHER

• DOCUMENTS REFERENCED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

• BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCHER

• E-MAIL EXTRACTS FROM GUNNAR HELLSTROM

• E-MAIL EXTRACTS FROM NXI COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia (NFBCA) is the united voice of blind and vision-impaired Australians. Our mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs. NFBCA's core services include individual advocacy to help people who are blind or vision-impaired exercise their rights, lobbying of government and non- government organisations and provision of information.

The National Relay Service and its associated Telecommunications Equipment Access Program were established with a budgetary allocation of 26.1 million dollars over four years, ending June 30 1998. At that time new arrangements will come into place, such as the Relay Service and Equipment Program operating in close connection with the Universal Service Obligations of Telecommunications Carriers.

Meanwhile, there is no braille-based text telephone for use by people in Australia who are deafblind. It may be factual to claim that an approved, compatible product simply does not exist; but this is to abrogate a responsibility we all must share. The benign neglect of the communications needs and rights of people who are deafblind is an indictment on us all. Whilst some organisations undoubtedly have not moved enough to solve the associated technical, regulatory and administrative problems, NFBCA has not pushed hard enough for their solution.

NFBCA has a mandate to advocate on behalf of people who are deafblind as they are a part of our total constituency - and advocate we will!

Having received representations from people who are deafblind and their advocates, NFBCA quickly realised the complexities of braille-based text telephony, not the least of which are technical and regulatory issues. The NFBCA Council hired Tim Noonan, an expert in issues of telecommunications and disability, including experience in Text Telephone Standards Development, who made an investigation and has provided valuable information.

Tim Noonan's report is largely a technical report so that advocates, service providers and people who are deafblind all have an understanding of the environment within which a solution to the problem of deprivation of text telephone communication for people who are deafblind can be found. The report provides recommendations which, if implemented, should lead to a timely and effective solution. "I just called to say ..." will pave the way for people who are deafblind to use the telephone to communicate with whom they want, when they want, with the privacy they want and deserve - rights we all take for granted.

Michael Simpson
President
National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

People who are both deaf and blind (deafblind) have a dual sensory loss which amongst other things creates a severely isolating environment. For people who are deaf, text telephones such as TTYs exist to enable this group to communicate over the telephone network, via typing, with other people who are deaf or with other people who have access to text telephones. This facility is extremely important to people who are deaf, and is arguably even more critical to people who are deafblind.

This report discusses the technical options available for text-based communication by people in Australia who are deafblind. It also seeks to explain the variety of technical and related issues which currently make text- based communication so problematic for this group.

At present, in Australia, there is no legal means by which a person who is deafblind can communicate using text telephony with others, since people who are deafblind are unable to read the screen or the print-out on standard text telephone devices currently in use in Australia.

In non-technical language, the report explores various options which could be pursued to achieve independent text telephone communication by this group as well as making some recommendations to NFBCA and other parties which, it is hoped, will lead to rapid resolution of this vitally important issue.

The report focuses on braille-output devices as well as provision of devices providing large print output for people with some remaining vision.

Outcomes that the report recommends include:

• Availability of a braille-based text telephone option in Australia for people who are deafblind;

• Availability of a large print text telephone in Australia;
• Availability of an inexpensive Baudot-capable modem;
• All solutions made available should require a reliable technical support program including local repair of braille components;

• All braille-based solutions should be sold by companies which know braille and which can provide effective support to deafblind customers.

Whilst the outlook is promising for a technically feasible solution to be found in the next few months, it will be essential for interested parties to work together co-operatively and with commonality of purpose and urgency. Only then can people in Australia who are deafblind have access to text telephony in the foreseeable future.

A NOTE TO READERS

A comprehensive "terms used" section is provided which contains explanations of terms used in this document. However, the following terms are key to a clear reading of this report.

1. Telebraille is a brand name of a specific product assembled by Telesensory in the United States. It is not a generic term for a braille-based text phone. Nevertheless, it has sometimes been used as a generic term in Australia by some bodies.

2. While TTY is a common term in Australia for devices used for telephone communication used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing, this document usually uses the more internationally accepted term "text telephone" which is the term recommended in the Australian Standard and in Europe. Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that the deaf community in Australia has adopted the term "TTY".

3. "Text Telephony" is the term used to describe the transmission of text over a voice telephone line. In contrast, "Voice Telephony" is the term used to describe conventional "talking" over the telephone network.

4. A Baudot-compatible modem is a standard modem with the additional capability of being able to communicate with Baudot-based text telephones (TTYs).

DESIRED OUTCOMES

1. Availability of a braille-based text telephone option for people who are deafblind. This device should be portable, operate on battery power and be easy to use and reliable in operation. It should also be able to be used for face-to-face communication: e.g., between a deafblind person and a sighted person. Ideally, it should provide information management facilities also, but this is secondary to the ability for a deafblind person to directly communicate with other people who use Baudot-compatible equipment such as text telephones.

2. Availability of a large print text telephone in Australia.

3. Availability of a braille-based telephone and a large print text telephone through the Telecommunications Equipment Access Program, with appropriate arrangements for training and ongoing user support.

4. Availability of an inexpensive Baudot-capable modem. Ideally this modem would be V.18 compliant and would also operate at high speeds such as 28.8 kbps or higher. It should be useable with standard communications software, and automatically identify the nature of the call: e.g., Baudot or ASCII. (automatic identification of call type is a key component of the V.18 standard.) A Baudot-compatible modem would allow blind people to communicate with deaf and deafblind people (such as workers in the disability field), allow cost-effective provision of text telephone information services to people who are deaf and deafblind, and give deaf and deafblind people increased mainstream communication options and information access.

5. All feasible solutions would require a reliable technical support program including local repair of braille components. This is because the braille components are imported and very few repair facilities are available in Australia.

6. All braille-based solutions would need to be sold by companies which know braille and which can provide support to deafblind customers. This is because the braille- related component of the device is more specialised and much more expensive than the text telephone component.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Preamble

It must be clearly recognised that before any equipment developed in other countries can be assessed for its suitability or compatibility in Australia, a sample of the device must be available for testing. This is particularly the case for any device requiring AusTel approval. The operating characteristics of an accessible text telephone solution used in North America may appear ideally suited to our needs, but its electrical design may make it impossible to gain AusTel approval.

It is the view of the researcher that the solutions developed to meet the short and long term needs of people who are deafblind must be driven by a work group made up of advocates of people who are deafblind (NFBCA for example), specialists in blindness and deafness technologies applicable to text telephony, representatives from ACE and representatives of the Office of Disability and Department of Communications and the Arts.

Where possible this group should have minimal commercial interests in the outcomes of their deliberations. While it is acknowledged that commercial players will be a key part of the solution, they may not be the most suitable parties to drive the solution without close monitoring.

The researcher has spoken with the key blindness technology companies and two have expressed some interest in importing or building a braille-based text telephone. Both were reticent to invest funds up-front into significant research & design and AusTel approvals - in view of the small number of items expected to be sold.

Developments over the last few weeks mean that one of these players (Pulse Data International) is in a less suitable position, at present, to extend its current operations into this domain.

The exact number of applications for braille-accessible text telephones lodged with and accepted by ACE is not known. It is estimated to be between six and ten. It is considered likely that an additional three to six units would be requested over the next twelve months.

The demand for large print text telephones is also expected to be considerable. Since no obvious product has been available so far, and because ACE has not identified large print text telephones as a key category, numbers are not available.

For Immediate Action

1. That the Commonwealth Government consider the following co- ordinated approach to identifying, testing and having approved a suitable accessible text telephone or text telephones for people who are deafblind. Mary Ward's 1996 report concludes that a coordinated approach to this major telephone communication problem is essential to a satisfactory solution. The recommended approach, for the consideration of the Commonwealth Government is:
   Establish a work group to drive the process of finding and implementing a solution to the text telephony needs of people who are deafblind, both braille users and those who need a large character display.

   This work group would be made up of representatives from: Office of Disability and Department of Communications and the Arts, National Relay Service Advisory Council, National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia, Australian Association of the Deaf and Australian Communications Exchange.

   This work group should co-opt various specialists as required including: Technical Specialists in the blindness and deafness fields (with specific knowledge of text telephony technologies and needs); a braille teacher who regularly works with people who are deafblind; Australian importers of relevant technologies such as Printacall and Optek Systems; People with some degree of deafblindness who are experienced in text telephone use.

   1. That funds be made available for the following elements of the project, and for other activities as necessary, to be carried out under the direction of the work group. (Although ACE advocates a predominantly commercially-driven solution, NFBCA is doubtful that this is the best approach and that it may not be to the best advantage of people who are deafblind.)
      • travel and administration costs for the work group to achieve results;

      • research to validate the key needs of people who are deafblind in relation to equipment for text telephony;

      • identification and prioritisation of the features required in an accessible text telephone;

      • purchase and testing of devices and components used in other countries to assess their approval status;

      • testing the useability of prototype solutions with deafblind individuals;

      • gaining approval of a suitable device;

      • negotiating commercial arrangements for the importation, modification, sales, training and technical support and maintenance of devices.

      The result of the project would be development of working and approved devices which best meet the needs of deafblind Australians. These funds would not include provision of devices to deafblind Australians, but would result in a viable solution to the problem currently being experienced. The outcome of this project would be a lower unit price for units subsequently purchased, since the initial funds would cover the costs of seeking and gaining AusTel approval. This approach would also put in place processes to improve the range of communications options for deafblind Australians in the medium and long term, making strong links with manufacturers and other interested bodies.

   2. Negotiate a realistic timeframe with all parties in which to have a solution or solutions in place, and advise people who are deafblind and associated professional staff in a spirit of openness, honesty and compassion.

2. That consideration be given to use of equipment in New Zealand as well as Australia, where this does not significantly impede progress in reaching a solution. An example of this might be encouraging modem manufacturers to also consider approval of their products in New Zealand.

   Telecommunications requirements in New Zealand are less strict than AusTel guidelines, and in view of the fact that (other than Australia) New Zealand is the only other country using baudot at 50 baud, sales might be increased by 25% for manufacturers.

3. That a BrailleLite 40 be purchased for testing in conjunction with a range of text telephone options. The BrailleLite 40 supersedes the BrailleLite 18 and provides enhanced features and a larger display.

   In particular, the BrailleLite 40 would be an ideal adjunct to a Baudot- compatible modem.

   The BrailleLite 40 is directly available from Blazie Engineering for USD 5495. Currently there is high demand for this unit and as of February there was a three- to- four month back-order. An Australian price for the BrailleLite 40 is not yet available, however it may be little short of $9,000.

   The BrailleLite can be used to access DOS software using Blazie's PC- Master software and is expected to be able to access Windows software in conjunction with JAWS For Windows shortly.

   [Please note that earlier versions of this report discussed the LiteTouch product from Enabling Technologies. This product was made up of a modified TTY and the BrailleLite. Since then we have been informed by Enabling Technologies that the product has been discontinued, and the researcher has been in communication with some workers in the field overseas who have encountered technical difficulties with the reliability of this solution.]

4. That a large print TTY be sourced and brought into Australia to identify what would be required to have it approved.

   The researcher was recently made aware of plans by Ultratech in the United States to make available a large print TTY which would be compliant with Australian telecommunications requirements. This product is anticipated to be a few months away. At the time of writing this information has not officially been confirmed.

5. That the purchase of an NXI Communications, Inc." Nexcom 300 PC-based modem be considered.

   Because the model 400 is imminent, this may not be necessary.

6. That more information be sought on the externally connected serial CM-4 300 BAUD TTY/modem from Phone-TTY, and its purchase be considered for testing.

   We know very little about this modem at present, and it may be less difficult/expensive to have approved than the InteleModem. It would not be a high priority if the Nexcom product becomes available as indicated in the attached correspondence.

7. That the TTY upon which the Telebraille III is based be purchased for investigation of its suitability for local approval (completed).

   The TeleBraille III is based on Telesensory's newer Power Braille braille display. The TeleBraille II was based on its Navigator braille display. Both displays have different dimensions which was one complexity in continuing availability of the TeleBraille II. Key staff and knowledge of the modification process were lost from Telesensory and/or Ultratech also.

8. That the Ultratech Intelemodem be tested for AusTel compliance. (There are one or two Intelemodems already in Australia which could be obtained for testing purposes.)

   Advice from Printacall in the past indicated that this modem was not well designed electrically and would be difficult to have approved.

9. That NXI communications be contacted with information about AusTel requirements for modem approval, and that it be encouraged to make its upcoming serial (external) modem suitable for Australian and New Zealand use. The modem would need to allow TTY access without the need for specialised software: e.g., by using an extension of the Hayes command set.

10. That the Commonwealth Government accept as a key criterion for the suitability of any company wishing to sell and support a braille-based text telephone solution for people who are deafblind, that it must have a demonstrated knowledge of braille and experience in supporting and servicing braille-based devices.

    
    Medium Term Options

11. That the National Relay Service Advisory Council liaise with the appropriate parties to consider inclusion of a text-to-text service as part of the National Relay Service, post June 1998.

    Pricing and estimated timeframes should be provided for a human-mediated and a fully automated solution.

12. That a V.18-based solution be given priority in the medium term and that the short- term solution decided upon be able to be upgraded to V.18 compatibility without need to replace the braille terminal component.

13. That Australian modem manufacturers be encouraged through tax benefits or other incentives to develop a modem capable of communicating with Baudot-based text telephones, and that such a modem ideally be V.18 compliant.

14. That the planned NXI Communications, Inc Nexcom 400 serial modem be tested for compatibility.

15. That, as recommended in the Australian Text Telephone standard, text telephones with a bi-directional serial port be identified or developed such that a braille terminal such as the BrailleLite could be attached to them.

16. That a manual be developed containing guidelines on conventions and etiquette on telephone use primarily designed for people who are deafblind, but which is also likely to be of benefit to people who are deaf.

17. That, acknowledging the severe education disadvantages and literacy difficulties encountered by people who are deafblind, genuine efforts be made to increase the number of braille literate people who are deafblind and to increase the level of braille literacy for all deafblind people in Australia so they can better access information provided in text form.

TERMS USED

The key terms used in this report are listed below. Other more technical terms are also included here to assist clarity.

• Deafblind: The term used to describe a person who has both a hearing impairment and a vision impairment. A person who is deafblind may have some remaining vision and/or some remaining hearing. The commonly-accepted definition in Australia is: "Deaf-blindness includes all people whose lives are significantly restricted by combined sensory impairment".

• Text Telephony: A telecommunications facility offering real time text conversation through telecommunication networks. Text telephony may be combined with voice telephony or video telephony.

• Text Telephone: The generic term commonly used to describe a device used to carry-out text telephony whether through Baudot, DTMF, ASCII or other methods used in various countries throughout the world. Such devices are usually used by at least one party who has a hearing impairment. It could be a stand-alone unit or as an addition to a voice telephone or as an application in a multi-function computer based terminal.

• TTY: One name that Australian and North American (Baudot-based) text telephones are commonly known by. The deaf community in Australia has adopted the term "TTY" as a common usage name for text telephones. TTY text telephones use the Baudot system to communicate across the telephone network. Other names for TTYs include TDD (commonly used in the United States) and text telephone.

• Modem: A device which is used to send computer (digital) information to another computer via the public telephone network. Modems can be "internal" (meaning they are installed inside a computer) or "external" (meaning they can be connected to computers and other devices via a serial cable).

• Text Relay Service: A telecommunications service that enables text telephone users and voice telephone users to interact by providing translation between the two modes of communication. This translation is normally provided by a human operator.

• National Relay Service: A text relay service funded by the Commonwealth Government through until the end of June 1998. The broad brief of the National Relay Service is "to provide people who are Deaf, or who have a hearing, speech or communication impairment with access to the national and international telephone system, on terms comparable with those enjoyed by other Australians."

• ACE (Australian Communication Exchange): The company administering the National Relay Service and the Commonwealth "Telecommunications Equipment Access Program". ACE also works with Telstra to administer the Telstra Equipment Program.

• Commonwealth "Telecommunications Equipment Access Program": Part of the National Relay Service, provides financial assistance to enable eligible consumers to purchase suitable equipment such as TTYs or modems which will enable them to access the National Relay Service. All deafblind people are eligible for this program because they are receiving the Disability Support Pension. The program is committed to providing accessible text telephones to deafblind people (when such a device is available in Australia).

• Telstra Equipment Program: Largely as an outcome of the Scott versus Telstra DDA complaint, Telstra has a program to provide eligible people with suitable equipment so they can access the telephone network. This might include telephones equipped with a volume control or a text telephone device.

• PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) This is the network that connects all analogue telephones in homes and businesses. The term Telephone Network is usually used in this report to refer to the PSTN.

• DTMF - Dual Tone Multi-Frequency: A system of tones used by standard touch-tone telephones to send information to the exchange as well as for transmission of information during a call. A DTMF-based encoding system is used in some countries for communication between text telephones used in those countries.

• ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardisation Sector): This body was previously known as CCITT (A French acronym translated as International Consultative Committee on Telephony and Telegraphy). ITU is a body of the United Nations, with primary responsibility for standards setting in radio communications (-r) and telecommunications (-t). There is some cross-over in the work of ITU and ISO (International Standards Organisation) - the generalised UN standards setting body.

• ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

• NFBCA (National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia): NFBCA has a strong interest in the needs of people who are deafblind.

• BAUDOT (pronounced "boardo"): A five bit code for transmitting textual information over a telephone line. In Australia and New Zealand only, Baudot is transmitted at 50 BAUD, while in other countries using Baudot it is transmitted at 45.45 BAUD. Technically, Baudot is considered to be severely outdated as a text communication system. However, because of the extensive use of TTYs by deaf people, it is still in very common use in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Scotland and some other European countries. Baudot is a carrier-less means of data communications, meaning that it is not subject to many problems with line disconnection and protocol negotiation experienced by conventional modems. For the same reasons, however, Baudot is slow (slower than a fast typing rate), both parties can not type simultaneously, and it is not possible to implement error-detection and correction protocols to overcome distortions over bad or noisy lines. Baudot only allows upper case characters, digits and a restricted number of punctuation characters to be represented.

• BAUD: a term loosely used to describe the speed of a computer connection. Because of the sophisticated methods used by modern modems to transmit data, speeds over 1200 BAUD are usually described in terms of CPS (characters per second), not BAUD.

• CPS: the number of Characters Per Second being transmitted over a telecommunications link.

• ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): An alternative to Baudot code. ASCII can represent a larger number of characters than can Baudot including lower case letters, many punctuation characters and special symbols used in many Western languages. The various modem protocols in common use, however, are better suited to machine-to- machine connections, not person-to-person connections. (See the documents by Gunnar Hellstrom for more information on this subject).

• V.18: An ITU-T standard defining the operation of a universal text telephone device which would automatically and transparently connect with any of the various text telephone technologies used internationally, and automatically convert typed text between such devices.

• Serial Port: a general term to describe a cable connection which allows two computer devices to be connected.

• DATA: a term used to describe any material stored in or transmitted by a computer. Data may be text or computer programs, or binary information. Data is often considered to contain content meaningful to a computer, and is often contrasted with garbage which is not meaningful and therefore not valid data.

INTRODUCTION

This report discusses the technical options available for text-based communication by people in Australia who are deafblind. It also seeks to explain the variety of technical and related issues which currently make text- based communication so problematic for this group. For more detail on the sociological and non technical issues relating to deafblindness, the reader is referred to the report prepared for NFBCA by Mary Ward in January 1996.

People who have both a hearing impairment and a vision impairment have a double disability which has a severe impact on their ability to communicate with others. Whereas people who are blind can focus on the auditory sense to access information they are unable to see, and whereas deaf people rely more heavily on visual means of communication and information acquisition because they are unable to hear, people who are deafblind need to rely primarily on touch and are generally at an extreme disadvantage educationally and in their communication with others.

Communication and participation in society is a right which needs to be afforded all Australians and the community is obligated to making all efforts to improve the communication options available to deafblind Australians.

A range of solutions need to be found which will enable this group to do the following:

• communicate with hearing people through telephony
• communicate with people who are deaf or hard of hearing who use text telephones
• communicate with other deafblind people via telephony
• communicate with people who are blind through telephony
• Communicate with other people face-to-face through use of their special text telephone equipment

• write, read and store information using their braille terminal device
• access text-oriented information through ASCII-based modem facilities such as bulletin board systems and the internet as well as directly communicating with other modem users

• access text documents available on floppy disk through word processing etc.

Furthermore, such solutions should enable people who are blind to communicate with other people who are deaf, or who are deafblind. Particularly in view of the visual means of communication (including gestures and body language) employed by deaf and hearing impaired people, computer-mediated communication is sometimes the only means by which blind and deaf people can effectively communicate.

A large print text telephone option is also a high priority for people who still have remaining vision but who have not learnt braille. A large print solution would be significantly less expensive than a braille-based solution for those people who could effectively utilise it. Because many deafblind people have Usher's Syndrome, some people who start out using a large print text telephone would later need to move to a braille output solution. Apparently a large print text telephone is currently being developed by Ultratech for the Australian market.

For deafblind people who have severely limited vision and who know braille, an accessible text telephone would need to provide braille output.

A braille-based text telephone could be made up of the following discrete components:

• a braille terminal such as a BrailleLite. This device would allow information which appears on the visual display to also be tactually presented to the deafblind user in braille. This braille terminal component may also be an integrated portable computer in its own right, allowing a deafblind user to use it in the same way that a sighted person would use an electronic organiser device. The braille-based text telephone would also consist of -

• Either:
  • a text telephone modified to allow connection of a braille terminal. Such a text telephone would still have a visual display and would also probably have the capacity to operate on batteries; or

  • a modem capable of communicating with Baudot-based text telephones. Such a modem would not have a display and could be used with a personal computer or could be directly connected to a suitable braille terminal. A baudot-capable modem-based solution would probably not provide battery operation, but may provide other benefits such as high speed data communications with other computers. It may also be easier to gain AusTel approval for such a device. It would be of use to the wider community of deaf and hearing people also.

  If it proves that an accessible text telephone is not achievable or practical, then a less preferred option would be to enhance the National Relay Service to provide a text-to-text service in addition to its current text-to-voice and voice-to-text services. In its current form, the National Relay Service has not been funded to provide a text-to-text service. Furthermore, according to Len Bytheway (CEO of ACE) within the current technical configuration of the National Relay Service it is not possible to provide this facility without upgrades to the technology. This text-to-text solution would require a deafblind person to have a braille terminal and a standard ASCII-based modem.

THE PROBLEM

In short there are currently no legal means by which a deafblind person in Australia can communicate with other persons using text telephone devices such as TTYs unless the deafblind person was one of the two or three people in receipt of the now discontinued TeleBraille II device. This bars people who are deafblind from a range of information and services which are readily available to others who are deaf or hard of hearing.

A deafblind person cannot currently communicate via the telephone network with other people who are deaf, or who have speech disabilities, since the scope of the National Relay Service does not extend to a text-to-text service.

People who are deafblind are already severely disadvantaged socially and educationally and continued isolation is compounding their pre-existing communications problems.

Furthermore, there are safety issues which need to be considered including the inability for deafblind people to independently contact emergency services or call friends for help in times of need.

In essence, the problems thus far experienced are centred around lack of international standardisation and the following Australian conditions:

1. There is no common text telephone approach used internationally. There are at least five major systems in use, and some of these have two or more variants. The result of this situation is that the availability of devices to meet Australian needs is limited to a small number of countries. As a result, existing solutions to deafblind telephone communications developed in some European countries may be completely incompatible and inappropriate for Australia's requirements.

2. AusTel requirements - Devices to be connected to the PSTN (the telephone network) considering safety, inter-operability and Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI). It has always been time consuming and relatively expensive to gain approval for telephone communication devices not developed in Australia. Not including equipment modifications, AusTel testing can cost about $5000 for an average device.

   This situation is made more difficult because the relevant Austel requirements are in many cases in excess of recognised international standards of acceptability. This means that telecommunications devices designed for many European countries will still not be acceptable to AusTel.

3. Lack of a wide-spread awareness of the unique communication needs of people who are deafblind and the technical difficulties holding back local solutions

4. The generally low level of education and literacy by people who are deafblind as well as even lower numbers of people who can read and write braille.

5. Funding considerations - namely the cost of braille-based technologies generally and the costs of gaining approval for modified text telephone devices. The costs of approval and modification are significant in view of the very small numbers of potential sales in Australia to people who are deafblind.

6. The limited number of technically viable solutions (even discounting AusTel approval barriers and the lack of internationalisation listed in point 1 above). The problem is made more difficult because it is assumed that people using Baudot-based text telephones can see, and there is rarely provision made by manufacturers for alternative means of input and output to and from such devices.

7. Discontinuation of text telephone models and braille devices. This has happened with the Telebraille II, and more recently with the LiteTouch. In both cases these discontinuations have partly been a result of discontinued TTY models by the Ultratech company. This situation also occurs with other blindness products such as talking typewriters and speech synthesisers designed for specific computer models. By the time product series I is on the market, series II of the product is being readied for release. The selling life of products in the technology field is always diminishing.

   Because adaptations to products are generally based on modifications to the currently selling model, the risk is always run that the next series will not be compatible in all necessary respects.

BACKGROUND

General

It is not the intent of this document to focus on the difficulties and delays previously encountered in identifying a solution to the deafblind text telephone communication need. Rather, this document aims to provide recommendations to work towards short-term and medium term solutions to the problem.

Earlier (unpublished) drafts of this report have been beneficial in discussions between key players addressing the needs of people who are deafblind.

An explanation of some of the technical and social reasons why it has been so difficult to identify and provide accessible text telephone options for use in Australia are discussed in "THE PROBLEM" a previous section of this report.

Background of National Relay Service and Equipment Program

The National Relay Service is a Commonwealth funded program which enables people to make telephone calls, whether they use a telephone typewriter (TTY), modem or a regular handset. A human relay operator converts text conversation to voice and relays the voice caller's conversation in text. Other calls such as people using their own voice (voice carry over) and having the text typed back or typing the message and listening to the answer (hearing carry over) are also handled.

The Telecommunications Equipment Access Program, part of the National Relay Service, provides financial assistance to enable eligible consumers to purchase suitable equipment such as TTYs or modems which will enable them to access the National Relay Service.

The broad objective of the National Relay Service is to provide people who are deaf, or who have a hearing, speech or communication impairment with access to the national and international telephone system, on terms comparable with those enjoyed by other Australians.

In its first year of operation, the National Relay Service has facilitated over a quarter of a million telephone calls.

Resources of $26.1 million over four years were provided in the 1994/95 Federal Budget for implementation of the National Relay Service and operation of the Telecommunications Equipment Access Program to improve telecommunications access for people who are deaf, or who have a hearing, speech or communication impairment.

Before the introduction of the National Relay Service in 1995, people who were deaf, or who had hearing, speech or communication impairments had access only to State-based limited daytime relay services.

The National Relay Service commenced operation in May 1995. The successful tenderer, Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) has a commercial contract with the Commonwealth to operate the National Relay Service and the Telecommunications
Equipment Access Program until June 1998.

The contract works on a fee for service basis: the contractor is paid according to the number of call minutes processed each month. There is no ceiling on the call minute payments. Consumers pay local call costs for local calls: there is no additional charge for connecting with the service even though the call goes through the National Relay Service in Brisbane. Long distance calls attract a 30 per cent discount for consumers, in recognition that text conversations take significantly longer to transact than speech.

The National Relay Service is managed jointly by the Department of Health and Family Services and the Department of Communications and the Arts. Health and Family Services has overall Budget responsibility and provides social policy advice on the service. Communications and the Arts is responsible for making monthly payments to the contractor, ensuring contractual compliance and monitoring the technical aspects of the service.

A Departmental Management Committee, made up of one representative from each of the two Departments, monitors the service. This committee meets regularly with the contractor to assess performance of the service and provides a link between the contractor and the National Relay Service Advisory Council.

The National Relay Service Advisory Council (comprising five consumer representatives from the target groups and the two Departmental Management Committee representatives) provides advice to the Government on consumer, quality and service issues related to the operation of the Service through the Departmental Management Committee.

The program is administered within the Office of Disability of the Disability Programs Division in the Department of Health and Family Services, and the contractual arrangements within the Enterprise and Radio Communications Branch of the Department of Communications and the Arts.

DISCUSSION OF PROTOCOLS USED BY TEXT TELEPHONES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

This material is quite technical in nature and is only provided for informative purposes. Readers who are not interested in the particulars of various communications methods may wish to skip this section of the report.

The text in this section is taken from Gunnar Hellstrom's "User Needs in Text Telephony" document and may be subject to copyright clearance.

1 Minitel V.23

A special version of the Minitel Videotex terminal is used for text telephony, called Minitel Dialogue. The special version allows both outgoing and incoming calls and implements a channel selection procedure, while the ordinary Minitel is originally only intended for outgoing calls and has fixed channel allocation. Calls are possible with the ordinary Minitels. The method uses the V.23 modem standard (that is 1200/75 BAUD).

Minitel is used in France and Belgium.

2 V.21

There is a method for text telephony called V.21 named after its ITU-T modulation standard. Such text telephones use a carrier for keeping in contact. Data is sent with modulation according to the V.21 modem standard and at 300 bits/s. In V.21 and many other modem standards two channels for transmission are used, one for the calling party and one for the called one. A special method has been introduced for random choice of channel so that the user does not need to make this decision. Many Nordic V.21 text telephones adhere to this method, making their behaviour differ a little from what is normal in the data communication world. It is also accepted to follow the normal V.21 method, where the choice of channel depends on who is the calling and called party, respectively. In such a case, the calling equipment is to send repeated beeps, named calling tones according to V.25, so that any hearing person who may answer the call will understand that it is a text telephone call.

Finland, Sweden, Norway and UK use the V.21 method.

3 DTMF

There is a method based on the same standard as the tone signals used for dialling in telephony. To include the whole alphabet, combinations of from 1 to 4 tone characters have been assigned to the letters of the alphabet. The method is slow, but it has the advantage of enabling a person to transmit small quantities of text using an ordinary telephone (equipped for DTMF dialling).

The DTMF method is used in Holland and Denmark.

4 Baudot

Baudot, TTY, 5-bit or TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) are different names for the same method. It has its origin in surplus Teletype terminals, communicating via the telephone network using special modems. In this system, no carrier is sent between characters. The text is sent with 45.45 or alternatively 50 bits/s, modulated with 1 400/1 800 Hz. The coding is 5 bit, with a character set limited to capital letters, digits and some special characters.

This method is used in the USA, Canada, Ireland and Iceland, and partly in the UK.

In New Zealand and Australia the 50 bit/s version is used.

5 EDT

There is a method called EDT (European Deaf Telephone). The V.21 modulation method is used, but on only one channel, used alternately by the two parties. Transmission speed is 110 bits/s, and sending is on only as long as there is something to send.

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Malta and a few other countries use EDT.

6 ASCII

It is possible to use regular modems for text telephone functions with some limitations. In the USA, this method is called ASCII, from the American name of the character coding used. Some efforts to harmonise the use of ASCII have led to the following conventions being adopted by deaf people using ASCII in the USA:

Modem: Bell 103 at 300 bps.
Characters: 7 bit, even parity, 1 stop bit.
Local echo.
The caller always selects the originate mode of the modem.

DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ACCESSIBLE TEXT TELEPHONE

No one device will have all these characteristics. More consultative research should be carried out to identify the most important needs of the target group. Such research would also enable such requirements to be prioritised with more certainty.

• Portability

• Battery operation.

  This is convenient for portable operation of the device. Battery operation is particularly necessary during mains power disruptions in the event of an emergency.

• Able to be used as a face-to-face communications device.

  Particularly necessary when a deafblind person wishes to communicate with others who do not finger spell and who do not know braille. The deafblind person would type or braille messages into the unit which would be displayed on the screen or printer of the text telephone device. The sighted person could type answers or information into the unit which would be tactually displayed in braille.

• Has facility for tactile indication of incoming telephone calls through vibrating pager etc.

  This is necessary since flashing lights and other visual methods are commonly used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• The text telephone component should be as mainstream as possible.

  This is so that improvements in text telephones, such as the inclusion of V.18 facilities, can be benefited from without the need to replace the braille terminal component of the system.

  It also means that a single device incorporating the braille display and text telephone into one physical unit is less desirable. Such a device would probably be less useful for other information management tasks also, and is likely to be more difficult to gain local approval for.

• Able to be used for other information access and storage functions such as access to directories and simple reading/writing tasks.

  Because of the major expense of a braille-based device, it is appropriate to look for a solution which can provide a wider range of communications and information management options than are available through a standard TTY device.

• able to be connected to a computer for alternative access to the computer screen

  A common use of a braille terminal is as a means of accessing the text presented on a computer screen. Braille is one of three methods of computer access, and is the one most appropriate to a person who is deafblind. Provision of equipment which can act as both a TTY and as a computer access tool would give greater educational and vocational opportunities to the deafblind recipient.

• Internal storage for commonly accessed information such as conversation logs, telephone directories and private phone numbers and contact details

  It is quite possible that the in-built phone book, number storage facilities and conversation buffers provided in the text telephone component of the system will not be accessible to the deafblind user. For this reason, the braille terminal component of the device should be able to provide equivalent facilities which can be easily accessed by the deafblind user.

• Off-line storage capabilities such as a portable floppy disk drive or equivalent.

  Deaf people have the option of printing information, but hard-copy braille printing is beyond the scope of this project. Therefore, the ability to store information off-line would allow it to be retrieved at a later date and re-read.

  A device such as the BrailleLite has an optional external disk drive which allows information to be backed up, as well as allowing computer text files and word processing documents to be accessed by the deafblind user of the equipment.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

These items are not sorted into priority order. Readers are referred to the recommendations section of this report for more specific details of these options

It should be noted that the combination of a standard ASCII-based modem and a braille terminal is not a suitable solution! This is because a standard modem can not communicate using Baudot and therefore there would be no means for the deafblind person to communicate with another deaf person or a person with a speech disability. This is not acceptable. The other disadvantage of this approach is that the solution would not allow for face-to-face communication between a deafblind person and a sighted person.

• Approval of a modem capable of communicating in 50 BAUD Baudot and other commonly used modem protocols When available, a V.18-based modem would be ideal. This approach would benefit people who are deaf as well as groups providing modem facilities to the public. It would also enable regular modem communications in addition to TTY communications for a person who was deafblind. A braille terminal device or braille-based PC would be required to connect to the Baudot-capable modem device.

• Local development of a modem implementing Baudot at 50 BAUD or the V.18 standard for text telephone communications Such a product could have international marketing and sales benefits and would allow government to provide more text-information services to people who are deaf and deafblind.

• Local development of a text telephone device which would provide braille output or have alternative input and output options for connection to a braille terminal Optek Systems expressed some interest in building such a device if an approved text telephone could be identified that could be interfaced with.

• Approval of the Telebraille III

  It is our understanding that this process is well under-way at the time of writing. Although this product does allow upgrading for connection to computers, it does not provide the range of portable information management facilities provided by some other solutions. It is also not very portable. However, the major concern about the Telebraille III are that it is heavily modified, can not directly be connected to a modem in the future and the apparent difficulties in cooperation between some of the manufacturers of the core components that make up the device.

• Upgrading of the National Relay Service to provide automated text-to- text communications between Baudot and ASCII protocols.

  This would only require a person who is deafblind to have a regular modem and braille terminal device

  This may require a change to the guidelines under which the National Relay Service operates and would involve technical upgrades. Currently there are 15 lines provided in each major centre of the National Relay Service, and only one line is used per call in the current system. A text-to-text service would utilise two lines per text-to-text conversation, and could marginally impact on the service to other deaf callers. In view of the very small numbers of deafblind people, however, this does not appear to be a major problem to resource management or capacity planning.

  It is likely that this approach would be the most expensive and funds would still need to be provided for purchase of braille terminal equipment and modems for use by deafblind people.

• Upgrading of the National Relay Service to provide human-mediated text-to-text communications between Baudot and ASCII devices

  This approach may be less difficult to implement in the short term, but would be more expensive in human resources, as well as diminishing the range of private communications options available to the target group.

THE TESTING, MODIFICATION AND APPROVAL CHALLENGE

The researcher is not an expert on the AusTel standards and more information is required on the entire cost and timeframes surrounding testing.

AusTel's requirements are stringent compared to most countries, including Europe, and are quite particular about operating characteristics in the TS002 Standard. Some of the modifications required in order to make an imported product compliant may require participation by the original equipment manufacturer - usually in another country. This is possibly the major risk to developing a solution which is successful and viable in the medium term.

The researcher was in contact with Martin Garwood of AusTest, a company in New South Wales which regularly conducts approval testing for AusTel. To the researcher's knowledge, they have not been involved in approving a text telephone device, but are very confident that all the required information is in the standards and that variance to modem approvals would be minimal. It is the researcher's understanding that up till now, Printacall have undertaken the approvals for most of the text telephone models currently used in Australia.

The following approximate costs and timeframes were provided:

1. Preliminary look - $1000 1 week

   This investigation would result in advice as to where the device would not meet Austel requirements in its unmodified form. Guidance would be given as to what changes would need to be made to the device in order for it to meet AusTel guidelines.

2. Equipment modified as advised. The timeframe for such modifications is not possible to estimate and would vary from product to product. Similarly, the cost of such modification is impossible to estimate and it may not be technically possible to effect such changes depending on the electrical design of the device.

   Hardware modifications could be carried out by the testing company or by a contractor they would recommend, or could be carried out by the importer of the equipment. When a large number of items are expected to be imported, the original equipment manufacturer would usually make the modifications during the manufacture process. This may be impractical with the limited number of units likely to be purchased for people who are deafblind.

   Software/firmware modifications would most likely need to be carried out by the original equipment manufacturer. For example, Ultratech can, for a fee, make changes to the EPROMS found in their TTYs and these updated EPROMS can be installed and tested in the Australian environment.

   A further complication for products to be used by people who are deafblind is that two independent EPROM updates may need to be made, one to accommodate communication with a braille device, and the other for Australianisation.

3. Full testing - three to five weeks
   1. Safety - $1800 for devices with an internal power supply or $1000 for devices using an external plug pack power supply. Testing is against AusTel's TS001 requirements (This is only required for devices directly connected to the telephone network, but does not apply to acoustically coupled devices.)

      If the device does not meet safety isolation requirements it may be possible to use an external line isolation unit, however, this would result in the device not being portable and requiring mains operation for the line isolation unit in order to re-generate ring voltage.

   2. Inter-operability $1000. Testing as required by Austel's TS002 document.

      These requirements include the loudness and duration characteristics of DTMF tones, recognition of Australian ring tones and the like. Some of these characteristics would be controlled by the device's firmware and therefore cooperation by the original equipment manufacturer may be required to assist in modifications.

   3. EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) $1000

      This testing measures the amount of electrical interference produced by the device. Poorly shielded devices can interfere with television and radio reception etc.

OTHER ISSUES OF WIDER ACCESSIBILITY

Where voice-based automated information services (interactive voice response) services are provided by organisations companies and Government, equivalent text-phone access to these services should also be explored.

St.George Bank launched a TTY-accessible phone banking service in early April this year which provides bank balances and other information for customers who use text telephones. This system provides full equivalent access to the voice-based telephone banking service offered to all St.George bank customers.

ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS CONTACTED BY THE RESEARCHER

Government

Narelle Power, Department of Communications and the Arts, (06) 279 1844

Jackie Anderson, Office of Disability (Department of Health and Family Services), (06) 289 8764

Russell Kenner, AusTel Standards Division, (03) 9828 7300

Internet Contacts

Gunnar Hellstrom, father of V.18 standard, gunnar.hellstrom@omnitor.se

The EASI mailing list (Equal Access to Software and Information)

The deaf-l mailing list

National Relay Service

Len Bytheway, CEO, (03) 3405 8333

Tracey Annear, Project Manager, (02) 9204 2990

(March 1996) Colin Allen, Australian Communications Exchange, TTY (02) 9204 2971

AusTel Testing Companies

Martin Garwood, AusTest, (02) 9437 4500

Blindness-Related Adaptive Technology Companies and TTY Importers

Nigel Herring, Optek Systems, (02) 9638 1713

Bertil Smark Neilsson, Access Anyway (formerly Pulse Data International), (03) 9899 9191

Kathy A Nelson (formerly Petruff), Enabling Technologies Company, 0011 1 407 283 4817

Mike Ridley, Quantum Technology, (02) 9684 2077

Dave Goldfield, Blazie Engineering, 0011 1 410 8939333

Andrew Stuart, Printacall, (02) 9809 2392

People Working with People who are Deafblind

Christine Simpson, Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, (03) 522 52019

Andrew Downie, New South Wales Department of TAFE - Open Training and Education Network (OTEN), (02) 9715 8347

Trish James, Royal Blind Society of New South Wales, (02) 9334 3452

Other Disability Experts

Mary Ward, Mary Ward and Associates - consultant on deafblindness issues to NFBCA, (03) 9803 2300

Gunella Astbrink, GSA Consultants, (07) 3862 6245

DOCUMENTS REFERENCED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

ETSI and ITU documents on text telephony:

Both of the following ETSI specifications rely on ITU-T V.18 as the modem standard for use in PSTN. These documents are available in ASCII from Gunnar Hellstrom's homepage at: http://public-www.pi.se/~omnitor/omnitor1.html

• HF02015R151 is a report on user needs in text telephony and broad guidelines for implementation. Approved in ETSI HF2 in April 1996.

• DETE04045R111 - a draft standard for a text telephone in PSTN.
• V18R1c - the V.18 March 1996 edition with basic amendments. V18R1d is the V.18 March 1996 edition with further amendments. The officially approved version can be found in a COM14 report from ITU-T.

• AusTel TAG3 - Technical Approval Guide 3 which specifies the approval process
• AusTel TS001 on Safety
• AS/NZS3260 - Called up by TS001. Note Appendix 1 with Australian variations to the otherwise carbon-copied International Standard which makes up the bulk of AS/NZS3260

• AusTel TS002 - requirements for PSTN connected equipment
• AS/NZS3548 - EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) AusTel requirements
• AS/NZS4277 - Text Telecommunications - User Interface Requirements - for Deaf People and people with Hearing and Speech Disabilities. Plus Amendment 1, 5 October 1996

• Ward, Mary; "DEAFBLIND PROJECT AUGUST 1995 - JANUARY 1996 REPORT FROM THE PROJECT CONSULTANT" 1996

• Department of Health and Family Services Consultant's Brief on the Evaluation of the National Relay Service

• E-mail from Gunnar Hellstrom on V.18 and approaches used by deafblind people in other countries (attached)

• E-mail (attached) and Product descriptions of Nexcom products. Descriptions found at: http://nxicom.com

• Faxes from Enabling Technologies

Profile - Tim Noonan January 1997

Tim Noonan B.A., has been working in the disability and technology field since 1982. This work has included writing product documentation, product training, preparing design specifications, individualised technology assessments, beta testing, as well as writing product evaluations, reviews and technical papers.

From 1989 to late 1995 Tim worked for the Royal Blind Society of NSW (RBS) as Adaptive Technology Services Manager, responsible for directing R & D projects, as well as conducting and overseeing computer training and technology assessments for blind and vision impaired clients, Government and private industry. During this period he directly consulted to IBM, AT & T, St. George Bank, Land Titles Office, Woolworths, Mount Sen School for the Blind (PNG), Catholic Education Office, Departments of Social Security and TAFE.

Tim still works for RBS part-time, managing their new Technology Access Project -responsible for identifying and implementing new technologies to enable blind and vision impaired people to be more independent in information access.

In 1995 Tim established SoftSpeak Computer Services, an Adaptive Technology and Interactive Voice consulting business, which provides independent consulting to government, industry and individuals with disabilities, particularly blind and vision impaired people.

Tim has a B.A. degree majoring in Psychology and Special Education from Macquarie University. Whilst studying he worked part-time for RBS as Technology Resource Officer, providing technical advice and training to vision-impaired clients.

In 1989 Tim worked for the NSW Department of TAFE as a regional Disability Consultant (vision).

Tim administers an internet-based mailing list on a voluntary basis where he disseminates disability-related information and technical announcements to individuals and organisations throughout the country. He also co-administers a public access computer system which provides affordable internet access to the public, including people with disabilities.

Tim designed and installed a computer-based braille production facility for the Mount Sen School for the Blind (PNG) in 1988, training school staff in its use, as well as consulting to the Catholic Education Office on the development of their braille production facilities.

Tim's expertise and experience in the disability field includes:

• Member on two Australian Standards Committees - "Text Telecommunications for people with disabilities" (Published standard AS/NZS4277 "Text Telecommunications - User Interface Requirements - for Deaf People and People with Hearing and Speech Disabilities") and "Interactive Voice Response User Interface Requirements" (which published AS4263 on requirements of automated telephone services).

• Representing Australia on the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD);

• Convener of the Round Table sub-committee on "Electronic Information Access" and member of National Federation of Blind Citizens" "Information Access Resource Group"

• Preparation of a detailed report for the Reserve Bank of Australia and National Federation of Blind Citizens of Australia, regarding the viability of developing an electronic note identifier to assist blind people in reliably denominating the new Australian polymer banknotes;

• Presenting papers at various technology and disability conferences throughout Australia

• Publishing technical papers in international disability journals - Information Technology and Disability (1994) and Technology Update Journal (1995)

• Designing and presenting courses on disability issues, technology and braille to teachers, parents, professionals and people with disabilities

• Contributing to two text books on educational and library technology

• Co-ordinating RBS's Annual Technology in Focus (TIF) exhibition for six years

• Working with media to positively portray people with disabilities, as well as educating and updating the community on disability and technology issues. Tim featured on the ABC's TV science program "Quantum", and more recently on ABC's "Hot Chips" computer education series. He has also been interviewed by "The Today Show", "Good Morning Australia", the Mike Walsh Show; Radio stations 2GB, 2UE, MMM, 2BL and Radio National; the Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Your Computer, PC Week, Microsoft Communique Magazine and Open Systems Review;

To keep abreast of this rapidly changing industry, Tim attends national and international conferences and communicates with colleagues around the world via the internet.

E-MAIL EXTRACTS FROM GUNNAR HELLSTROM

Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 21:26:18 +0100
To: tnoonan@softspeak.com.au
From: Gunnar Hellstrom <gunnar.hellstrom@omnitor.se>
Subject: Re: Info on status of V.18 and tty modems

At 11:13 1997-01-19 +1100, tnoonan@softspeak.com.au wrote:
>I have heard that British Telecom have done some work in the Lab on a prototype v.18 chip-set
>but have not heard whether this has been commercialised yet.

Yes, but it is not a chip set. It is software for a general purpose signal processing board for a PC with a line interface. - A very good environment for verifying the V.18 standard, and also for making telecomm service applications on. But too expensive for the consumer product.

I am involved in verifying the V.18 implementation, and also in adapting a windows text telephone program for it. The implementation seems fairly stable now, and our software is about to be ready for its first demo.

The company, DSPG, who makes this general purpose board are also involved in producing a more dedicated V.18 board.

Other actors who have announced activities in this area are:
Philips Home Systems (Holland), Ecotron (Italy), Celint (Italy), France Telecom, Intertex (Sweden).

Intertex have activities in making a modem, the others are making dedicated terminals. No one is announced as a finished product yet.

>is there an accessible version of a document
>describing the implications of the v.18 standard/protocol?

The V.18 standard itself is available in my web page. Two related ETSI documents as well.

There is an overall text telephone user requirements spec there, called DTR/HF 02015 that should give a picture of the reasons behind V.18 and its implications. I have also contributed to some conferences with shorter papers. I shall see if I can hang one of them also in the web page.

>I am aware of the Intelemodem and the Nexcom modem products,
>do you know of any others which can speak ASCII and Baudot at this time?

I am only aware of the Nexcom products. I heard that Ultratec might also have something.

The BT/DSPG design is definitely capable of that, and is probably quite close to become a product.

>What kinds of technologies are being used in Europe for people who are unable
>to read a tty screen, but who need to communicate using Baudot?

Baudot is not widely spread here. It is mainly UK and Ireland who use it.

If we take the question broader, what is available for people who want to use text telephony but cannot see the screen? In Sweden it is most wide spread with PC-s and any of the screen reader products for DOS or Windows and a text telephone program and a modem. The same configuration is then used for BBS access that is very important for blind and deaf-blind people here. They usually have both braille displays and voice output, but normal keyboard input. We have at least one DOS and one Windows text telephone program available.

In Norway, I think the deaf-blind computer David with integrated braille keyboard has got some market.

In UK, I have heard it is a bit messy, because the prevailing deaf-blind terminal use some different communication mechanism. John Gill at RNIB have details about that.

For central Europe, where the EDT text telephones are dominating, I have the impression that very little is done in the area.

The Swedish text telephone producer Comterm have voice additions to their text telephones, so they can be used if you want voice output. It is available for V.21, EDT and DTMF so far.

E-MAIL EXTRACTS FROM NXI COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 08:32:33 -0700 (MST)
To: tnoonan@softspeak.com.au
From: "Nxi Communications, Inc." <nxi@nxicom.com>
Subject: Re: Deafblind use of your ttymodem questions

At 09:16 PM 1/18/97 +1100, Tim Noonan wrote:

>I have a few questions which I hope you can answer for me.

>1. Do you have, or are you planning to develop a serial version of the modem?
>
We use to sell an external version of the NexCom 300... it has been discontinued but we plan to develop a next generation NexCom 400 external modem later this year. The NexCom 400 will be available as an internal card modem in about 2 months.

>2. is it a half-length card in the card version?

The presently available NexCom 300vi is an 8-bit ISA bus half length card.
>
>3. can tty calls be sent or received using telecommunications software other
>than through the Windows software you have developed? (obviously all the message >management features would not be available etc).

You can use the NexCom 300 as a "standard" modem with any communication
software. To use its additional capabilities special software, like ours, is required.

>4. Does the modem auto-detect 45 or 50 BAUD?

No, you can set it to 45 or 50 baud Baudot as a setting, but the modem does not detect whether the remote side is 45 or 50 baud.

>5. Has the modem been approved for use in any countries other than US/Canada?
>
The NexCom 300 is approved only in the U.S. and Canada. We will be looking seriously at Australia with our NexCom 400.

>6. Have you been approached to provide this modem for use in Australia?

see above

>7. other than the intelemodem, is your modem the only other tty-capable modem
>available (I realise you may not wish to answer this question, but I am
>really trying to find a serially-connected option if it is available!)

I don't mind... the only TTY capable modems on the market I know of are: 1. the 300 baud/TTY Intelemodem (external, uses Futura [DOS software]), 2. the
300/TTY CM-4 from Phone-TTY (external, uses Futura), 3. the 300/TTY MIC300i from Microflip (internal card, uses their "FullTalk or Wintalk sw), and 4.
our 19200 data/14400 fax/TTY internal card NexCom 300.

>8. do you know if any blind or deafblind people are using your telecommunications
>software under windows with speech synthesis or braille output? Some
>windows programs can be used using access software on a PC, others can not.

No, I'm not aware of that. We would be interested in adding such support however.

>Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I hope that your products
>can be made available in Australia in the future. Unfortunately, our
>telecommunications safety and interoperability requirements are very stringent
>and this can present problems for approval of many telecommunications
products developed in the U.S.
>
>Regards
>Tim Noonan
>(trading as SoftSpeak Computer Services)

Best regards,
Tom McLaughlin

Nxi Communications, Inc.
3191 S. Valley St. Suite 205
Salt Lake City, UT 84109
Tel: (TTY) (801) 466-0453
(VOICE) (801) 466-1258
(FAX) (801) 466-1259

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