What is IP Captioned Telephone Service?
Editor: If you don't quite understand IP Captioned Telephone Service,
this Consumer Fact Sheet from the FCC should clear it up pretty well!
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Background
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) allows persons with hearing or
speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls. A
communications assistant (CA) relays the call back and forth between the
person with a hearing or speech disability and a voice telephone user.
For example, a person with a hearing disability can communicate in text
with the CA, while the CA communicates by voice with the other party to
the call. The CA repeats in voice what the user has typed, and types to
the TRS user what the voice telephone user has said.
There are several types of TRS that consumers can use depending on
the nature of the disability and whether they have some hearing and can
speak. TRS types include traditional TRS, which uses a text telephone or
TTY device and a telephone line, Speech-to-Speech (STS), and Captioned
Telephone Service, as well as forms of TRS that use the Internet,
specifically IP Relay, and Video Relay Service (VRS). Internet Protocol
(IP) Captioned Telephone Service is one of the newest forms of TRS. For
a description of the various types of TRS, see our consumer fact sheet
at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/trs.html.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently ruled that all
IP Captioned Telephone Service calls could be compensated from the
Interstate TRS Fund. Like all TRS calls, the relay costs associated with
IP Captioned Telephone Service are not paid by users. The FCC does not
mandate the provision of IP Captioned Telephone Service, and, given the
way the service works, exempts it from certain minimum mandatory
standards for TRS, such as emergency 911 service, three-way calling, and
speed dialing.
How IP Captioned Telephone Service Works
IP Captioned Telephone Service is essentially a combination of two
other forms of TRS, Captioned Telephone Service and IP Relay. Captioned
Telephone Service uses a special telephone that has a text screen to
display captions of what the other party to the conversation is saying.
It allows a person with hearing loss, but who wants to use his or her
own voice, to speak directly to the called party and then listen, to the
extent possible, to the other party and simultaneously read captions of
what the other party is saying. Unlike traditional TRS, which uses typed
text, the CA repeats or revoices what is said, and speech recognition
technology automatically transcribes the CA's voice into text
transmitted directly to the user's captioned telephone text display.
IP Relay is a text-based form of TRS. The CA voices what the IP Relay
user has typed, and types to the user what the other party to the call
has said. Unlike traditional TRS, however, the first leg of a call - the
text - goes from the caller's computer or other Web-enabled device to
the IP Relay center via the Internet, rather than the regular telephone
network. To begin a call, the user accesses an IP Relay provider via a
Web page. As with traditional TRS, the second leg of the IP Relay call,
from the CA to the called party, uses the voice telephone network. For
more information on IP Relay, see our consumer fact sheet at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/iprelay.html.
IP Captioned Telephone Service uses the Internet, rather than the
telephone network, to provide the captions of what the other party is
saying. Although this service can be provided in a variety of ways, the
user (who generally can speak and has some residual hearing) may make a
voice to voice call to another party on a standard telephone using the
normal telephone network. The called party's response is directed from
the user's telephone to a personal computer or similar device that
routes it to the IP Captioned Telephone Service provider via the
Internet. The provider then sends back to the user's computer the text
of what was spoken. As a result, the user can both hear, to the extent
possible, the called party's response over the normal telephone network,
and simultaneously read the text routed via the Internet to the user's
computer or similar device.
Benefits of IP Captioned Telephone Service
IP Captioned Telephone Service allows consumers to use a computer or
similar device, rather than a specialized captioned telephone, to make
captioned telephone calls. As a result, the service can become more
widely available to consumers. In addition, it takes advantage of the
increased availability of computers and Internet connections in the work
place to permit persons with hearing loss to more effectively use the
telephone in their jobs. Further, captions can be displayed on a
computer screen in large text, variable fonts, and color, thus
accommodating a wider group of disabled users, including individuals
with hearing disabilities who also have low vision.
Complaints or More Information
To file a complaint about lack of or improperly functioning TRS, you
can use our electronic complaint form found at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html.
You can also e-mail your complaint to our Consumer Center at fccinfo@fcc.gov;
call the Center at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; or fax your complaint to
1-866-418-0232. Finally, you can mail your complaint to:
Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs
Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division 445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.
Our Consumer Center can also answer any additional questions you may
have about IP captioned telephone service, TRS, or other
telecommunications issues. You can also visit our Disability Rights
Office Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro to learn more about FCC programs
to promote access to telecommunications services for the disabled.
For this or any other consumer publication in an accessible format
(electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio) please write or
call us at the address or phone number below, or send an e-mail to
FCC504@fcc.gov.
To receive information on this and other FCC consumer topics through
the Commission's electronic subscriber service, click on http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/contacts/.
This document is for consumer education purposes only and is not
intended to affect any proceeding or cases involving this subject matter
or related issues.
