Dear FCC members,

Title IV of the ADA is applicable to any wire or radio
communication service that enables persons with hearing or speech
disabilities to engage in communication with persons without such
disabilities and is not limited to services using TTYs.
Speech to Speech (STS) services fall within the scope of the ADA's
definition of "telecommunications relay services" as a telephone
transmission service that enables an individual who has a speech
disability to communicate by wire or radio with a hearing
individual in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the
ability of a person who does not have a speech disability to
communicate using voice communication services by wire or radio.
I support the FCC's tentative conclusion that STS be required
nationally; cost should not prevent establishing a national
requirement. As a special education teacher for 35 years, and a friend of
Dr. Segalman, I have had the opportunity use STS. In my opinion,
it provides a right to communication for speech disabled persons
that is analogous to the services now being offered to the deaf
at public expense. Surely speech disabled folk are no less entitled to
the right to communicate by telephone.

Sincerely,

Sally F Davis