TRAI yet to lend ears to hearing-impaired

KOCHI: Aimed at stopping pesky calls and text messages, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recent initiative to cap the number of SMSes a day has indeed given a thick ear to a bunch of unsuspected victims - the hearing impaired. The TRAI had ordered that no access provider should permit the transmission of more than 100 SMSes per day per SIM.But in Kerala alone, over 2,000 hearing-impaired people including students and employees have been using SMS services as their prime mode of communication with the outer world. “There are close to 1,500 people who use mobile phone only for sending messages. Sending SMS has been a way of self-expression for most of them. We have been sending over 250-300 messages per day. Even for simple communications, right from ‘Good Morning’ to ‘Thank You’, they need this service. Also, if they want to have a proper communication with another person, it takes more than 10 to 15 messages,” said Rajeev Kumar of Kanhangad, vice-president of All-Kerala Association of the Deaf.The association has been planning to request the TRAI to give relaxation to the hearing impaired in the number of messages if a medical certificate is submitted along with the connection application. “There is another issue also. We might be sending only five SMSes but owing to increased number of characters, the end result will be 15-20 SMSes. If a text message exceeds 160 characters, it will be a fresh message,” he said. The hearing-impaired students in schools and colleges have been using SMS service for their study purposes also. Fr Mathai Joseph of Cherkala Marthoma Deaf and Dumb Special School in Kasargod said, “Students have been increasingly drawn into SMSing to communicate with each other regarding their lessons. The cap on the number of messages has come as a big blow to these children. We are thinking about what can be done on the issue,” he said. The SMS ban has invited severe opposition from other students also.  The fresh law came into effect on September 27. However, confusions have started looming over the entire scenario for people depending on SMS confirmation.