Sprint Launches CapTel Relay Service for Hard of Hearing Community in Ohio

Sprint has launched CapTel Relay Service (Captioned Telephone) in Ohio. CapTel was approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) as an additional service administered through the Ohio Relay Service.

CapTel is an assistive technology aimed at easing communications for the more than 24 million Americans who are hard of hearing, have experienced hearing loss later in life or are deaf individuals with good vocalization skills.

CapTel Relay Service is a leading-edge technology developed by Ultratec, Inc and a special CapTel-equipped phone is required in order to place a call through CapTel. The CapTel phone works like any traditional phone, with callers talking and listening to each other, but with one very significant difference - captions are provided live for every call. The captions are displayed on the CapTel phone’s built-in screen so the user can read the words while listening to the voice of the other party. This allows conversations to flow more naturally, allowing for normal interruptions and expressed emotions.

CapTel is available through Sprint in 21 other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Hard of hearing active and retired federal government employees (civilian, military and federally recognized US tribal members) also can take advantage of CapTel services through Federal Relay.

How CapTel Works

As the user dials the phone number of the person they wish to call, the CapTel phone automatically routes their call through the CapTel call center and connects them to their called party. At the call center, a specially trained operator uses a customized voice-recognition computer and revoices whatever is said by the called party. The voice-recognition software transcribes the operator’s voice into captions that appear on the bright display screen on the CapTel phone for the user to read. The user also hears the other party’s voice on the phone to the best of their ability, just like any other amplified phone.

Source: Sprint