accessibility_fail | Can you hear me now? No...

Can you hear me now? No...

(cross-posted to

gimp_vent)

Is it just me, or do phone companies make it as hard as possible to get a smartphone on a data-only plan-- at least now that the Sidekick, what I'm using currently on a grandfathered plan, seems to be dead and gone?

Seriously. The whole reason I want a data-centric phone to begin with? Because I can't hear well on the phone. In any given month, I usually don't use more than 100 minutes of talk time because phone calls are so stressful; in most months, I don't even use 60.

Let's look at the options:

AT&T: Not so bad when it comes to Windows Mobile phones and Blackberries, which actually surprises me quite a bit (though most of the options do seem to be postpaid and contract-based). But the iPhone, perhaps AT&T's most popular smartphone, actually requires filling out a form with documentation of disability. I do have a diagnosed auditory processing disorder, but it's quite a hassle for me to get to a counselor or medical professional who'd be able to actually sign off on the form. (Not to mention that this whole thing with requiring medical documentation cheeses me off as a fan of the social model of disability.)

T-Mobile: Sidekick prepaid was wonderful... while it was still being sold. And again, Blackberry and WinMo aren't so bad-- if you're willing to go with a postpaid plan. There are flexpay (i.e., prepaid) plans available for WM/BB, but only if you're willing to add 500 voice minutes to the package. And as for any phones running the Android OS (G1, MyTouch, Cliq), there is literally no data-only option, despite several deaf people having complained.

Sprint: Although there's nothing on their main site about this, they do have a backchannel data-only offering, and the price is quite good. Doesn't require documentation of disability, either; it's all on the honor system, which is also nice. However, it requires signing a 2-year contract; I'd prefer 1-year, even though that means the phone will be more expensive.

Verizon: Oh, this one gets really weird. As of yesterday, it was possible to get a smartphone on a $55 data/text plan. But now that they've introduced two new Android phones, this has changed. Apparently now, this has to be activated in store, and "appropriate documentation may be required" (I hope this doesn't mean having to track down diagnosis docs like with AT&T!).

So, in other words: If you want a data-centric plan, better prepare to have a credit check and be billed on a postpaid basis, possibly with a 2-year contract required. And you may have to go see a doctor in the process to become eligible. If you want an off-contract option, don't expect to have a nice data-centric phone or a reasonably priced data plan.

Seriously, why aren't there more options for this? There are tons of options for voice plans, but very few choices for people who can't use voice services for whatever reason (or who use them so little as to not even hit 100 minutes in a month).

EDITED TO ADD: OK, I found out what Verizon requires on another page of their site, and it's just as I feared:

In order to establish your eligibility for the Blackberry or PDA Smartphone plan, please bring either (i) a letter indicating that you are hearing impaired on appropriate letter head from your audiologist, hearing health professional, speech or language therapist/specialist, physician, surgeon, vocational rehabilitation agency counselor, teacher or credentialed therapist; or (ii) your membership card for the National Association of the Deaf, Hearing Loss of America, AG Bell, Association of Late Deafened Adults, Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc or other similar group.

So they *have* gone and done the same thing as AT&T. Grr. And I have to wonder whether they would consider my auditory processing disorder eligible or not. Not that it's not already a hassle to try to catch a bus to the necessary doctor's office to get the thing signed off on anyway-- though I suppose they might accept a letter from my GP. I also have to wonder how it'd apply to some of my autistic friends who are speech-impaired but not hearing-impaired...

Which, of course, just makes the subject line of this post just that much more appropriate...

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This is exactly why I'm on pay as you go. Because when I was talking to the guy in the shop, he could not seem to understand that "I don't make phone calls" doesn't mean "I can't afford to" it doesn't mean "I don't think I make that many compared to the average 23 year old", it means "I don't make phone calls." I think the last time I used the phone was ten minutes to my doctor last month. I can't imagine hitting 100 minutes a month. So I ended up with PAYG, and they just get next to no money out of me - I'm lucky in that I have that option, I can't imagine needing to use whatever a data plan is and having to deal with phone companies.

I don't get it. Deaf people have been around a hell of a lot longer than phones, why is it so confusing that people might not use voice calls much, for whatever reason?

If someone introduced a pay-as-you-go data plan for something like Blackberry— something like $1/day for web and e-mail access— I would totally be on it. I'm really wanting a phone with decent web and email access, because that's what I largely use instead of voice.

Yeah - I'm completely non-technical, my phone's a glorified alarm clock some days, so I just use it because I "need" a number for job hunting (and that's something I could rant for pages about - why do I need a number? My job applications have an E-Mail address on them, you can E-Mail me far more information and you can do it at your convenience) and so I can send texts.

I wonder what it would take for them to realise there is a demand for data-only?

I ended up taking the smallest possible voice plan with Sprint, ended up sharing the plan with my partner, and just realized that while I use 3x as much data, he uses the majority of the minutes that are used, which still aren't that many.

I don't mind paying for it since we don't have any sort of home line, and he does actually use the phone sometimes, but I wish we could go lower than the lowest step of minutes they offer, especially now that they have unlimited cell to cell (on any provider, not just on sprint), which means most of my calls don't even hit minutes any more, since when I'm not calling my partner, I'm just trying to reach friends to coordinate plans by and large.

Also, the "having to have a diagnosis" is pretty crap, since I don't use voice phone much because I have anxiety issues that make it very difficult for me...which is a lot harder to convince a sales rep is a "legitimate" disability to let me off the hook for paying for minutes.

Ugh!

I have gotten thoroughly sick and tired of this conversation:

Me: I have a hearing impairment, please speak clearly.
Salesperson (SP): *continues mumbling*
Me: Sorry?
SP: *mumbles again*
Me: I'm looking for a phone that is compatible with my hearing aids, do you have live phones I can test?
SP: *looks at me like I'm a three-headed alien, and mumbles again*
Me: *puzzled, look at friend who is with me*
Friend: He said no, they don't have any activated phones, here's his card if you want to come back and buy a phone.
Me: *does not take card, and leaves store*

I don't mind paying for it since we don't have any sort of home line, and he does actually use the phone sometimes, but I wish we could go lower than the lowest step of minutes they offer

Gah, yes. I'd be interested in potentially sharing a family plan with my parents, but the options for shared plans are all ridiculously huge numbers of minutes that assume there will be multiple voice users.

Also, the "having to have a diagnosis" is pretty crap, since I don't use voice phone much because I have anxiety issues that make it very difficult for me...which is a lot harder to convince a sales rep is a "legitimate" disability to let me off the hook for paying for minutes.

Yes, exactly!

I'm not technically deaf, but I do have an auditory processing disorder that affects my comprehension of speech, particularly when certain frequencies are muffled as is the case on the phone. I have to wonder whether the phone companies would consider that to be on equal footing with an actual hearing impairment.

And then there are people who are just plain introverted and don't talk that much. They deserve access to data-only options as well, as far as I'm concerned!

A crowd of deaf people storming their office building? ^_^

Heh... I get similar responses when I ask salespeople about the availability of a plan with fewer than 300 minutes. And forget about finding activated smartphones so you can test the web browser and mail client out...

And ohhh yeah about the job applications. What's particularly annoying is when I list a phone number on something because it's required, specify somewhere that I prefer to be contacted by e-mail, and still end up getting called and having to ask them to repeat themselves five times.

My disability adviser keeps asking people to phone me. *facepalm* Says it all, really.

And then there are people who are just plain introverted and don't talk that much. They deserve access to data-only options as well, as far as I'm concerned!

Yes!

Oh, that is so facepalm-worthy. Seriously, do these people even think about what they're doing?!

Wow. The part with the doctor's documentation reads like "if at all possible, we want to avoid you becoming our costumer." You'd think you wanted something for free instead of just a plan that suits your needs. Which you'd pay them for. I just don't understand why companies don't seem to get that.

Yeah, I know! And the thing is, if they just made data-only plans available to everyone, there's a good chance they'd end up making more money that way-- because they'd have new customers who wouldn't otherwise have been remotely interested!

My other pet annoyance is the supposed compatibility rating scheme, which AFAICT is entirely ficticious with completely made-up scores that have no relation whatsoever with whether a phone is, in fact, telcoil compatible...

This is totally craptacular.

The history of the telephone company's failure of deaf people is epic, and well told in A Phone of Our Own: The Deaf Rebellion Against Ma Bell

Don't know if the Cricket service is available where you are, but they do have $3/day PAYG data plans.

Hmm, judging by the phone companies you have listed, I'm presuming that you're in the U.S. That leads me to consider, if they want a statement regarding your medical condition, are they willing to give you one attesting that everyone in their various offices and outlets has been trained with regard to HIPAA and federal privacy regulations regarding medical information and that their recordkeeping meets federal standards for the confidentiality of medical information?

I don't see how they can make a requirement that you give them federal protected information without responding in kind in that regard.

Someone with a better understanding of HIPAA than I might be able to find a hole in my thinking, but to me it's a glaring problem.

Sadly, HIPAA applies to health care providers, health plans/insurance, and health care data clearinghouses. It stipulates that they have to hold privacy since they're part of the process of providing the care.

Other parties that you authorize to be informed about your health are not bound by HIPAA, including your employer if they get health care information (for example to get medical leave or return to work after same).

I don't know how this might apply to a pay-as-you-go plan, but on my carrier (verizon) I can call up and say "I want to use this phone with this ESN on this line." As long as I don't buy the new phone through them, I don't extend the contract at all. (This does mean you would need to purchase an unlocked phone, though.)

... And I just realized that my suggestion requires calling your carrier. I'm sorry, that was foolish of me. I know Verizon also offers web portal access; I don't know about other carriers.

I've looked at Cricket, but I wasn't very impressed by their choice of phones, to be honest. I'm really wanting something with a decent mail client and web browser.

I could always call via CapTel or relay... or perhaps ask in-store...

Also, from what I've read on HowardForums (a mobile phone forum site), Verizon doesn't support unlocked smartphones (Blackberry, Droid, Touch, etc.) on anything but their smartphone plans.

My VZ rep has suggested getting a replacement phone (which can even be locked to Verizon) from Craiglist/EBay. Apparently, the people who want the latest and greatest will buy the phone on their own and then sell the spare.

I'm offering specifics for Verizon, because I've got experience with them and their methods, but I expect that similar tactics would work on other carriers. (I also find that if I can't get through with one rep, I can call back and the second rep will probably work better.)

If you like the feel of the iphone, a good alternative would be ipod touch+Skype.

The problem with the Touch is that I wouldn't be able to use it where there's no WiFi-- and there are plenty of WiFi dead zones around town where 3G service is still available.

I consistently buy my phones unlocked from Europe or Asia via eBay. Because I'm buying phones for the shiny factor, it does get expensive. But a decent unlocked phone with good browser support can be had for $100 or less. (I'm thinking here of certain Nokias and Sony Ericssons that have been around for a few years.)

I can't speak to putting unlocked smartphones on US networks, but all the carriers that have SIM cards have networks that support unlocked 3G imports.

It is also possible to "run down" a contract that way. My contract ran out several years ago, and I'm still on the same plan, paying the same amount (not much), using my awesome phone for everything I want.

Added: I feel like I should mention that AT&T does not require a phone to be "locked" a second time. I just insert my SIM card and turn the phone on.

Edited 2009-11-09 12:10 (UTC)

I sympathise entirely! And as a fellow person with some kind of auditory problem that is *not* deafness or hearing loss (probably some combination of auditory processing disorder/hypersensitivity/inability to filter background noise), it really gets me how those are the only hearing-related disabilities that are considered valid by most people. As if hearing can be condensed to a one-dimensional spectrum with deafness at one end and abled hearing at the other. Hint: this is not how it works, people.

And, yeah, "bring your diagnosis so we'll consider it" is just... WTF?! Why should people be forced to prove their disability and, hell, why *shouldn't* abled people who just don't care for telephone conversations be able to get that kind of plan? Never to mention that not only are there non-deafness/HoH auditory disabilities that might mean someone doesn't like using the phone, there are actually non-auditory disabilities that can cause the same! I have a speech disorder that often winds up causing severe anxiety when it comes to phone conversations; I don't see why stutterers shouldn't be able to get this kind of plan.

I've recently got a pay-as-you-go iPhone. I don't know if they don't have that where you live (I'm in the UK) or whether it's just not an option for you, but I am finding it awesome. (Disclaimer: I've only had it a few days and am mainly using it for organisational things.)

I have been so jealous of the fact that the UK has pay-as-you-go iPhones— right now, the only option for a data-only iPhone in the States is the one I mention above. (If you don't submit documentation, you have to pay for 450 useless voice minutes a month.)

If AT&T ever offers a prepaid iPhone option stateside, I'm so jumping on the bandwagon.

To be fair, AT&T does actually consider auditory processing disorders and speech disabilities to be worthy of consideration; I have an autistic acquaintance who managed to get on the accessibility plan because of her speech issues. But still, having to find a doctor who'd actually sign off on it, and hoping that AT&T would actually accept that doctor's testimony (is a GP sufficient? or must it be an audiologist or occupational therapist?), is just too much of a hassle.

I don't know if this helps at all, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case it does. I have this phone (https://www.iwirelesshome.com/phones/AV_SYO2700PNKHS_BX/ and on sale now; it wasn't when I bought it) and it accesses the web. Slowly, but it does, and the plan is $30 a month for 150 minutes (that can also be used for text messaging) and it's prepaid, kind of a hybrid between the usual prepaid and the contract ones, as it provides service like a contract phone but there's no penalties if you decide to not pay (aside from no service, of course).

I hope this made sense, and that it might help someone. The phone's also available in blue, if that matters.

I read the beginning of this post and was going to say that "Verizon has a data-only plan that you can buy through their website! :D" And then I got to your part about Verizon and OH HELL NO.

This seriously, seriously pisses me off. Because yeah, one shouldn't need to prove disability to just to get a phone. I'm able-bodied, and the reason I bought a Blackberry with a data-only plan is because I wanted to check the real-time bus schedules online, and maybe visit websites when I am bored. That's it. I don't need a voice plan because I don't talk on the phone. I can go months without calling anyone on my cell. If you deduct work-related calls (I work from home) from my landline, then you have maybe two calls to my mom each month.

I'm thinking this calls for a letter to Verizon--that's how mad I am. GRRRRRRRRRR.

Heh, I've seen that phone on sale at Kroger. I just wish they offered it in different colors; it's sort of awkward being of the male gender and carrying around a pink phone. :-)

I seriously don't get it. They used to offer it to anyone who asked, but with the introduction of the Droid they changed it so that it requires proof of disability. (Are they seriously that afraid of people using VoIP apps in place of minutes? I mean, they're still paying for service...)

You can order it from the website in blue.

How is the web access billed? Is it included in the monthly plan or an extra fee? I don't see anything on the site about that, and I didn't see anything in-store either.

Oh, and I already tweeted to @VzwOffers about this. Naturally, no response.

I haven't been charged for it, so I think it's included.

Oh, so that's the problem! They want to provide a service (data transmission), but charge people differently depending on what data they're transmitting. Silly silly silly. I like prices to vaguely reflect costs. They should charge enough for the data plans to cover the possibility that someone might use it to transmit voice with the quality they use for the voice plans.

The worst thing is that with Skype-to-Skype calls, you end up with quality that's better than the voice plans. I can actually hear consonants over Skype...

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