Video Relay Service is a method of providing relay between a deaf person and a hearing person that allows the deaf person to sign and the hearing person to speak. An interpreter at a remote location does the interpreting between the two languages. Both the deaf person and the interpreter must be in front of a camera, which transmits the image. Both sites require “high speed” connectivity to ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available to transmit what is essentially a movie. This service is just getting off the ground in 2000, and seems destined to become the service of choice for deaf people who sign.
October 2000 – Texas becomes the first state to offer VRS as a standard part of their relay service
