I am Deaf. I was mainstreamed, and my signing skills are very novice.

To make phone calls, I rely very heavily on services provided by Purple VRS. Placing calls by video relay is not always possible, and as a new signer, not efficient. Because of this, I use text relay services provided by Purple. This allows me to type to someone who can voice for me and then type back the response from whomever I am calling.

When making doctor's appointments, emergency calls, etc., Purple has always offered the best service for me. IP-Relay is incredibly important to many Deaf people, DeafBlind people, and other Disabled groups.

FCC policy changes would require Purple to monitor calls in order to be reimbursed. This is a violation of privacy and civil liberties. Disabled people have just as much a right to private calls as abled people. Because Purple cannot continue providing this service without the help of the FCC, it will be forced to close this service on November 14th, 2014.

This would devastate many Disabled communities and make it much harder for us to function.

We urge the FCC to please reconsider, think about the right to privacy and how Disabled groups should have it, and to reimburse Purple for their IP-Relay/i711 services.

Thank you.