Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

May 09, 2008

Viable Opens Call Center in Maryland to Serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons

By Rajani Baburajan

Viable, a next-generation video relay services provider for deaf and hard of hearing people, has extended its call center activities to downtown Frederick, Maryland. The call center is located at the heart of the city, at the intersection of the Market and Patrick Streets, close to the main campus of Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD).
 
Established in 2006, Viable works to open new avenues of communication for deaf and the hard of hearing people through its video relay services. This can be accessed using the Internet at home, or via wireless connectivity from other locations.
 
The call center will open its doors May 12. Initially it will employ about 15 people. 
 
For Jason Yeh, vice president of technology at Viable, and a graduate of MSD, there could be no better location for his business. 
 
"It has been my dream to open a business and create jobs where they matter," he said.
 
Viable is a unique organization that is set up exclusively for the benefit of a special segment of society. The majority of employees at Viable are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. All of them are personally interested in the research and development of various technologies to revolutionize the world of communication of the deaf and the hard of hearing community.
 
The VRS call facility uses a video technology that connects the user (who can use American Sign Language) to a video interpreter (VI). Using the VI, the user will dial to the second party and interpret the conversation. Viable VRS offers a number of connectivity options for users. It can be accessed by dialing ViableVRS.tv on any videophone, through one-click connection on the Virtual keypad (VPAD), through one-click connection on Viable Vision for PC, or by dialing ViableVRT.tv using XMeeting for Mac.
 
At present, Viable operates through two different call centers at Rockville and at Ellicott City. Apart from the Frederick center, the company is also planning to extend its services to Towson and Northern Virginia this year.
 
The growth of VRS call centers will not only revolutionize the communication of the deaf and the hard of hearing people, but also provide new employment opportunities for them. 

Rajani Baburajan is a contributing writer for TMCnet.
 
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Best Practices for Implementing a First Contact Resolution Program in the Contact Center, brought to you by Enkata.


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