Crazy Deaf Joe Blog

4 Movie Stars Passed Away in Short Time

As you know, it is very sad to hear the news that 4 movie star died and they were Ed Mchanon, Farrah Fawcett, Micheal Jackson and Bill Mays.

I would like to pray for their loss and all of them will be surely missed. May GOD be with them always and they are in our hearts. We will honor them as well.

Please give them a peace love and support.

Southwest Airlines’ Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Customers to Benefit from Partnership with Sprint Relay

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sprint (NYSE:S – News) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – News) have joined forces to offer toll-free TTY (teletypewriter) and video relay access, giving deaf and hard-of-hearing customers direct access to Southwest Airlines customer service.

Beginning today, deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech disabled customers needing to call Southwest Airlines can dial a dedicated toll-free TTY telephone number: 800-533-1305. That number is answered by a Sprint relay agent who immediately connects to the Southwest Airlines customer service representative. The Sprint relay agent relays information between the Customer Service representative and the relay user in English or Spanish.

Video Relay customers can access the service using a videophone by calling SWAVRS.TV to reach a video interpreter who will connect to Southwest Airlines. By providing video access, those whose native language is American Sign Language (ASL) can communicate with a video interpreter in ASL who then acts as the ‘voice’ to Customer Service representatives. Sprint Video Relay Service (VRS) is offered at no cost to deaf and hard-of-hearing customers who use a videophone or web camera with a computer to connect with a qualified Sprint video interpreter who interprets the call in English or Spanish.

“Offering video access, preferred by many of our deaf or hard-of-hearing customers, facilitates information exchange faster and in a more personal way than via the traditional telecommunications device for customers who are deaf,” said Lance Morton, director of Automation Resources for Customer Support & Services for Southwest Airlines. “This is a good fit for Southwest Airlines – we’re committed to providing the highest quality of Customer Service to each of our customers.”

“Sprint offers many types of relay services including TTY, voice, voice-carry-over, speech- to-speech, internet-based relay, video relay, caption telephone services, conference captioning, and a variety of hearing aid compatible wireless devices to meet the unique communication needs of our customer base,” said Mike Ellis, director of Relay Services at Sprint. “Sprint applauds Southwest Airlines for its commitment to all its customers, including those deaf and hard-of-hearing, to ensure they have equal access to Southwest Airlines travel services.”

Sprint is the largest and most technologically advanced Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) provider in the nation, with more than 18 years experience in providing relay services to those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind, or have a speech disability. Sprint’s experience in this field assures Sprint Relay users receive quality services regardless of the type of relay service they are using.

Customers can access a Southwest Airlines Customer Service agent by calling the Southwest Airlines TTY toll-free number: 800-533-1305 or go to SWAVRS.TV for video access. These numbers are also posted on the Southwest Airlines website at http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/phone_numbers.html.

ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 49 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2009; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

After nearly 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive airline in the sky and offers customers a comfortable traveling experience. Southwest recently updated its gate areas and improved its boarding procedure to make flying southwest convenient and simple. And, best of all, Southwest Airlines is famous for No Hidden Fees! Southwest Airlines currently serves 65 cities in 33 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. For more information, visit: www.southwest.com.

FCC Update On 10 Digit Phone Number – Now New Date ~ November 12 2009

This content was provided by FCC’s website.

Under the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) “local number portability” (LNP) rules, so long as you remain in the same geographic area, you can switch telephone service providers, including interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, and keep your existing phone number. If you are moving from one geographic area to another, however, you may not be able to take your number with you. Therefore, subscribers remaining in the same geographic area can now switch from a wireless, wireline, or VoIP provider to any other wireless, wireline, or VoIP provider and still keep their existing phone numbers.

Initiating the Process

If you want to change companies:

Do not terminate your service with your existing company before initiating service with the prospective new company.

Contact the new company, which will start the process of porting your number by contacting your current company. Be prepared to provide the new company with your 10-digit phone number, customer account number, five-digit zip code, and passcode, if applicable.

Be aware that when terminating service with a wireless company, you may be obligated to pay any early termination fees under your existing contract. Also, when terminating service with any company, you are usually required to pay any outstanding balance owed. Review your bill or contract to determine what fees or charges apply. Once you request service from the new company, however, your old company may not refuse to port your number, even if you owe money for an outstanding balance or termination fee.

You may request service from a new company at any time.

Fees and Charges

Companies may assess fees to recover the costs that they incur in providing number portability. Fees may vary between companies, and some companies may not charge any fees.

Companies may not refuse to port a number because a consumer has not paid for porting.

When considering a switch, consumers should ask the new company whether it charges any number portability fees and whether those fees can be waived.

The Porting Period

Your new telephone company can usually give you a good idea about how long the process will take. To keep the process as short as possible, the FCC recently clarified that companies may not obstruct or delay number porting by requiring you to provide excessive personal information before porting your existing telephone number. In addition, the FCC clarified that validation for a simple number port should require no more than the following information: (1) 10-digit telephone number; (2) customer account number; (3) 5-digit zip code; and (4) pass code, if it applies.

The FCC is also considering imposing additional requirements to make LNP more efficient, including shortening porting periods for simple ports.

For a wireless-to-wireless transfer, your phone number should work within a few hours of your request to change wireless providers.

A wireline-to-wireless transfer may take several business days to complete. Ask your new wireless company whether you will be able to continue using your current wireline number during the transfer process. There may be a period of “mixed service,” when you essentially have two telephones with the same number during the adjustment period.

If you port from a wireline phone to a wireless phone, your wireline long distance company will not move with you. Your long distance service will generally be provided by your new wireless company, but you should verify this with the new wireless company before changing service providers.

Note: Certain small wireline companies may have an exemption from the porting requirements if they have received a waiver from their state public service commission. Customers who want to port a wireline number to a wireless phone, and are told that they cannot, should contact their state public service commission to find out whether their wireline company has been granted a waiver. A directory of state public service commissions can be found at www.naruc.org/commissions.cfm.

Emergency Services

In some areas, 911 operators automatically receive the phone number or location of a wireless call, but in many areas, that is not the case. Technology that will provide that information – Enhanced 911 or “E911” – is currently being implemented, but is not yet available using many wireless phones and in many parts of the country.

As noted above, during the porting process from the old company to the new company, there may be a period of “mixed service” – when you may have two telephones with the same number. During this time period, your E911 service may be affected. The call should go through, but the 911 operator may not be able to call you back if the call gets disconnected. For this reason, before porting either a wireless or a wireline number, ask the new company how long the porting process will take and how it will affect a 911 call.

Handsets and Special Services

In some instances, wireless handsets of different wireless telephone companies are incompatible. If you switch wireless companies, you may need to purchase a new handset, even if you retain the same phone number. If you have concerns about purchasing a new handset, ask your new wireless company whether or not your current handset will work with that company’s network.

Also, be aware that in a few areas, as consumers with ported numbers roam outside their normal wireless service areas, they may only be able to send and receive calls. Other services, such as caller ID, may not function properly.

FCC Requires You Register A Local Number Before June 30 2009

Fact? Yes! If you want to contiune to use your VRS, you must register for 10 digit number so you can be able to use it, because of 911 reasons and other features.

Got blackberry? Register for a account with your VRS to get that.

Use AIM for your relay? Register for 10 phone number too.

Dont delay, ACT now!