Improving Customer Service for Sign Language Users Through Direct Video Calling Organization: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Presenters: Robert McConnell, Telecom Accessibility Analyst, FCC Disability Rights Office David Schmidt, FCC TRS Fund Coordinator

Purpose and Call to Action Highlight the differentiating value of a Direct Video Calling (DVC) solution for call centers Offer an open source solution for DVC capabilities Call to Action Build a more all-inclusive call center that offers American Sign Language (ASL) call center services to customers Encourage businesses and call centers to openly adopt and widely promote the “Answer the call” call to action Build a community that advances the technology for open source solutions to DVC

FCC, TRS, and DVC – Why does it matter? What is Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) and Why is it important? “Functionally Equivalent” versus “Equivalent” communication Answer the Call – this is a capable but underserved population What is DVC and Why should you have it in in your call centers? FCC is utilizing open source technology, in an innovative way, to deliver a win for the deaf, deaf/blind, hard of hearing, and speech disabled communities and the entities that serve them by advancing direct video calling (DVC)

Benefits of Implementing a DVC Solution Improved Communications Simple Implementation Secure Communications Maintain ADA Compliance Career Opportunities Cost Savings

FCC Call Center Story The FCC’s Disability Rights Office (June 2014) implemented the “ASL Consumer Support Line” – 1st of its kind Direct Video Calling solution in the federal government. Other federal agencies have implemented, or are interested in implementing similar ASL call centers. The FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line has significantly reduced incoming relay calls to the FCC’s main toll-free number.

33% 300% FCC Call Center DVC Performance To date, the FCC’s ASL Contact Center has seen the average length of calls decrease by 33%. At the same time, the quantity of incoming calls from callers who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing or speech disabled have increased 300% as compared to calls previously made by VRS.   Average length of calls: 33% Number of ASL callers: 300% Individuals who communicate in ASL feel more empowered to contact their Government when they have direct access providing improved privacy and efficiency in their calls.

DVC Solution Option - ACE Direct ACE Direct Overview What is ACE Direct? An open-source Direct Video Calling software solution developed in collaboration by the FCC and The MITRE Corporation A DVC solution that enables the deaf and hard-of- hearing to make video calls to an ASL-trained agent at an organization's call center

ACE Direct – Direct Video Calling Platform ACE Direct Notional Architecture

ACE Direct Features and Benefits Key features: Software allows real-time video, audio, and text from a video-capable phone, Session Initiation Protocol phone, or web browser using WebRTC technology System utilizes the Asterisk PBX software to make calls, queue calls, and connect to other telephone services The Enterprise Service Bus, modular design, and Integrated CRM allow for the flexibility of a stand-alone platform or to integrate with an organization’s legacy CRM and associated database(s)

DVC OmniChannel Solution ACE Direct offers multi-channel communication capabilities including video, real time text and chat to handle typical requests for services and call center workflows. CSR CSR Video Chat Window CSR Desktop

ASL Caller with CSR Agent Views CSR Mailbox CSR Desktop ASL Caller CSR Agent CSR Agent Status Screenshot

Supervisor/Management Dashboard View The Dashboard provides several KPIs for real time monitoring: Performance Statistics Queue Statistics Agent Statistics Call Center Statistics

Management Reporting Capabilities Asterisk generates a Call Detail Record (CDR) when a call is completed. A CDR contains metadata: Call source Destination Timestamp The CDR dashboard provides for call auditing, CSR activity tracking, and a record of incoming and outgoing calls.

Key Benefits of DVC for Specific Call Center Types Insurance/Benefit Call Centers Direct communication of PHI and other sensitive information Point of service translation Potential video remote interpreting tool Financial Call Centers Ensure direct communication of waivers and acknowledgements Translation kiosk in branches linked to the ASL call center Efficient identity verification to prevent cases of fraud Help Desk Call Centers Face to face interaction enhances comprehension Increases satisfaction and potentially shortens call times Builds relationships and increases likelihood of return customers

Call to Action Build a more all-inclusive call center that offers American Sign Language (ASL) call center services to customers Encourage businesses and call centers to openly adopt and widely promote the “Answer the call” call to action Build a community that advances the technology for open source solutions to DVC

Any Questions? Contact Information Robert McConnell: Robert.McConnell@FCC.gov, David Schmidt: David.Schmidt@FCC.gov, (202) 697-0425 DVC@FCC.gov, https://www.fcc.gov/ACE

List of Acronyms and Terms Acronyms/Terms Definitions ACE Accessible Communications for Everyone, an FCC initiative to bring technical and functional communications equivalency to the deaf ACE Direct Open source call center platform for two to twenty customer service representatives that allows one-to-one business communication. It is also the FCC’s showcase for Direct Video Calling (DVC) ATC Answer the Call, outreach initiative to encourage answering of TRS calls Asterisk An open source private branch exchange (PBX) software DVC Direct Video Calling, one to one video communication Functionally equivalent telecommunications Different forms of communications equal in value HoH Hard of hearing IP Relay Internet Protocol Relay Services KPI Key Performance Indicator TRS Telecommunications Relay Service VRS Video Relay Service, video picture based telecommunications relay service VRS Minutes Conversational minutes used with VRS Web RTC An Internet protocol to develop and deploy embedded video applications for use on web browsers

ABSTRACT Everyday thousands of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing use third-party operators over video relay services (VRS) to interpret their communications from American Sign Language (ASL) to voice in order to place telephone calls to customer assistance divisions of government agencies and businesses. To improve the quality and privacy of these interactions, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has implemented a direct video calling (DVC) solution that allows these consumers to communicate directly in ASL with FCC call center agents who also know ASL. The FCC has done this by launching its own ASL Consumer Support Line, as well as developing and sharing an open-source DVC technology solution available for adoption by all. This session examines the success of the FCC call center’s DVC experience and demonstrates features of the open-source DVC solution that can easily integrate into your existing call center technology platform.