UK Council on Deafness

Ofcom Review of the Universal Service Obligation

Ofcom have launched their review of the Universal Service Obligation, which includes the provision of telephone relay services. The existing relay service is rooted in traditional voice telephony technology. With the exception of the recent introduction of TextDirect, the service has not kept pace with other technology developments. There are now a number of new platforms on which similar relay services could operate, which might provide major benefits in terms of ease of access and use. Some of these are already available in other countries. For example Captioned Telephone services, are being rolled out in the USA - as are IP based relay services, which are accessible to anyone with a PC connected to the internet. Video communication is rapidly getting cheaper and easier to use, video relay services for sign language users are available in Sweden and the USA. Relay services available on mobile phones via SMS could also have potential. To participate in the review your comments must be sent to Ofcom by 21 March 2005. A consensus response is being prepared by TAG who would welcome your input, please send any contributions to tagenquiries@hotmail.com

Full details of the review available on Ofcom's website at www.ofcom.org.uk

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