Editorial #51-What are the Top 3 Questions at Every Town Hall?

Dr. Z has had town hall meetings since April–he is now into his 20th city and will continue until the end of this month. After every town hall, there is always an open question and answer session and almost always there are at least 15 questions being asked by audiences all over America. As one can expect, they fall into a pattern and Dr. Z will tell you what is on the minds of many deaf and hard of hearing Americans these days.

1. Is the proposed rate going to cause VRS to end as we know it?

2. Will the bankruptcy of Sorenson cause our VP-200′s to be inoperable?

3. Can the Z4 do what the VP-200 does?

Answers that Dr. Z gives (in abbreviated form–Dr: Z gives a much longer answer at those town halls):

1. Is the proposed rate going to cause VRS to end as we know it?

Answer: The answer is a resounding NO! NO! NO! The FCC has gone on public record that it is here to insure that the VRS service is here to stay. It is a mandated service by the ADA. We all should not worry (nor take TUMS) about the possibility of this happening.

2. Will the bankruptcy of Sorenson cause our VP-200′s to be inoperable?

Answer: This is a possibility. It depends on the level of bankruptcy protection Sorenson seeks. Not all bankruptcies are Chapter 7 where the entity goes completely out of business. Many bankruptcies are Chapter 11 and 13, like what General Motors went through. It went into bankruptcy for a while and now it is out of bankruptcy and it never stopped making cars. In any event, should the VP-200 not work–there is a simple solution–we all have computers and all it takes for you to get VP service is to simply press a button to download the Z4. Then you would not need a VP-200! (The Z4 works on both PC’s and Macs.) Press HERE to register for the Z4 (It is free.)

3. Can the Z4 do what the VP-200 does?

Answer: In a horse race, the Z4 would outrace, outhustle and outperform a VP-200. There is no way the features on a VP-200 can do what a Z4 can do. Dr. Z challenges anyone out there to show what a VP-200 does that the Z4 cannot do. The most common challenge was the signaler for incoming calls. The Z4 has the Z-Alert which is the modern way of responding to calls through your pager or mobile phone.

In future blogs, Dr. Z will post more answers to those questions asked by everyone out there. Dr. Z wants to thank the hundreds of people who have attended his Town Halls. This gives everyone an opportunity to get facts straight.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z is a contractor working with CSDVRS on several projects.