BT Next Generation Text Relay Service To Make Real Time Communications More Accessible

Ofcom and BT say the launch of the ‘Next Generation Text’ (NGT) relay service will make it easier for people with speech or hearing impairments to have real time conversations over the phone through a variety of voice and text inputs, which convert speech to text and vice versa.

An NGT application is available to download for PC, Android and iOS and replaces BT’s existing text relay service. NGT will be made available to all BT customers and also to other telecoms operators on a wholesale basis.

“We’re pleased that hearing and speech impaired customers can finally start to benefit from the new ‘next generation’ text relay service,” says Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s consumer and content group director. “The enhanced service delivers real improvements to the text relay experience, allowing users to have conversations more easily and fluently.”

Next Generation Text relay

Previous text relay services required the use of £300 Textphone, which was not easily portable, the use of a 18002 prefix when dialling, and did not allow for parallel speech and text with users forced to take turns to speak or type.

NGT provides access on a wider range of devices and provides users with a standard 11-digit phone number called a ‘Textnumber’, meaning the person dialling does not need to know about the voice relay service when calling.

Communications are real time, with voice and text channels open at the same time, allowing users to interrupt and be able to use both inputs. For example, people with some hearing can listen using voice, but will have a text backup in case they don’t catch a particular word.

“NGT has really exceeded my expectations and certainly makes life a lot easier for deaf people,” says Mike Aston, a senior architectural technologist with Warwickshire County Council, who participated in the trial. “It’s so flexible across all devices and you can link a single mobile or landline number to NGT apps on various devices, be it a desktop or a mobile version of NGT.

Ofcom investigation

“This way you have the luxury of answering any incoming calls on your mobile or landline telephone and reply from any NGT-linked device wherever you are. Should you miss a mobile call, it is logged on your mobile to return later.

“I have found TextNumbers extremely useful for the hearing to contact me without having to dial 18002 in front as before. Last but not least, NGT certainly enhances employment prospects for the deaf in the future.”

Ofcom decided that text relay services should be improved in October 2012, with operators given a deadline of April 2014 to introduce them to the market. However BT has missed this deadline due to problems connecting emergency calls.

The regulator says it is “disappointed” that BT was late and will be investigating the reasons for the delay. It will also monitor the use of the new service and continue to look at technologies that can improve text relay in the future.

“We’ll monitor the performance of the new service to ensure it meets our expected standards,” adds Pollack.

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