Executive Summary
The Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) was established in November 2004, under the Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) framework of the Telecommunications Act 2001. The TRS is designed to meet the telephone communications needs of Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Hearing-Impaired and Speech-Impaired people.
Cabinet agreed that the TRS would be reviewed one year after its implementation and that the outcomes of the review would be reported to the Minister of Communications and the Minister of Disability Issues.
The specific purpose of this review is to investigate and report on the degree to which the services specified and made available under the TRS TSO Deed are meeting the needs of end-users. The review includes the identification of potential service refinements and enhancements that need to be considered in service development planning by the TRS provider.
The review methodology utilised inputs from a variety of sources, including:
- A Usage and Satisfaction Survey of TRS users conducted by the National Research Bureau (NRB). A questionnaire, with reply paid envelope, was mailed to 314 TRS users who had rented textphones. These recipients were understood to be approximately 50% of those who use TRS (the other 50% being Internet Relay Users). A 46% participation rate for the mail out survey was achieved. This is a relatively high participation rate by mail survey standards and provided a sound sample size for analysis. A web version of the questionnaire was posted on the Relay Service website. Only 11 users responded to the Internet version. Absence of the need to register before using the TRS has precluded direct solicitation of user participation in the survey based on a list of registered TRS subscribers.
- A Call for Submissions from stakeholders was publicised on the MED website, posted directly to known stakeholders and accompanied by a joint press release from the Minister of Communications and the Minister of Disability Issues. Written submissions were received from support organisations, government agencies and TSO Liable Carriers. Additionally, four submissions from interested individuals were received, (refer www.med.govt.nz).
- Two consultancy reports from Consultel Associates Ltd on: International Benchmarking, a comparative study of the New Zealand TRS with four comparison countries; and the Impact of Technology Changes on the Relay Service.
- A report from Sprint New Zealand (the TRS Provider) outlining the developments of the TRS since its establishment in November 2004.
The review found an overwhelming support for the TRS and for its continuance. The user survey reported an overall 85% satisfaction rate with services offered. The TRS clearly has a positive and empowering effect on the lives of users in reducing social isolation and enabling self reliance for telephone communication.
The review has also found a number of areas of possible refinement and enhancement for the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and the TRS provider Sprint to consider. The most pressing areas include:
- Providing additional one to one assistance to TRS users to increase their confidence in making relay calls.
- Improving the speed of user connection to the TRS and the consistency of service from Relay Assistants.
- Wider public education to increase use and familiarisation with the TRS.
It is noted that Sprint is being proactive and already taking steps to respond to the areas identified above.
The review also highlighted some specific areas requiring Ministerial consideration and decision.
There is a strong call from end-users and support organisations for Speech to Speech (STS) to become a permanent feature of the TRS as is the case in other countries. It appears that little would be gained from extending the current trial. Users already find the TRS life changing and this is also reported by those organisations that support Speech-Impaired people.
The case for introducing relay access from public places and for relay in Māori Language is less compelling. These areas are less of a priority for future development of the TRS compared to STS and other additional features sought by TRS users. However, further work is required to assess the desirability of introducing relay in Maori and other languages in future.
Additional service enhancements, such as Video Relay, are also strongly supported by the Deaf Community. Major technology improvements over the next five years should allow for these developments along with advances in voice recognition technology.
TSO Liable Carriers support the primary objectives but emphasise the importance of consultation before the introduction of any additional TRS services.
The TRS in New Zealand, although small in comparative size, generally compares favourably to other countries in terms of the cost to users and in terms of the adequacy of the service quality measures used. This is encouraging after only one year of operation; a service still in its infancy.
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