News: Captel
Instant/Personal Captioning service, Captel, and Web-Captel service no longer available.
Seventeen Years of Support
For over seventeen years, Teletec has brought the cutting edge in text communication technologies to people with hearing loss in the UK. Over the past six years, Teletec has introduced exciting new captioning technologies that have the power to revolutionize the way deaf and hard of hearing people communicate over the telephone and communication support for 0ne-to-one, group meetings, seminars and lectures.
These technologies offer the promise of far more functional equivalent access to the telephone, the lecture theatre, GPs, and all of the communications that are so important in today’s world.
Advent of the Internet
However, with the advent of the Internet, SMS, e-mail, and wireless text devices of every sort, the traditional text-telephone is no longer the primary means of communication for the deaf community. The main financial support for Teletec has always been the sale of text phones and, unfortunately, the sales of text phones have declined precipitously over recent years.
Without the support of the text phone sales and due to the lack of universally available funding mechanisms for captioning services, maintaining the Teletec office is no longer fiscally possible.
Closure of the captioning service
It is with great regret that I announce that the captioning services including Instant/Personal Captioning service, Captel, and Web-Captel service are no longer available as of the close of business November 30, 2007.
We are earnestly and vigorously pursuing alternatives but there will have to be a break until we can find another captioning services provider.
Without a universal funding method for these kinds of services, small companies will continue to have overwhelming economic challenges in attempting to offer them.
Not the first to close
Ours is not the first nor the only alternative relay service company to have to shut its doors this year. Already three other (BDA, CSD, and RNID) small organisations started to offer alternative relay services as Video Relay Service for sign language users in the UK and have had to close due to the lack of a reliable central funding mechanism.
With regards to a 24 hour 365 day a year CapTel Relay Service at no extra cost to the user other than the cost of a standard telephone call, if services like Captel, WebCaptel and IC/PC are to survive and be available long term, they need the help of everyone who is impacted by their loss.
Working with OFCOM
There are advocates who are already engaged in working with OFCOM and other official government channels including the European Commission to try and get a universal fund established to support alternative relay services like Captel and WebCaptel.
To ensure that these services will always be available, please contact Damian Barry, CEO, Hearing Concern damian.barry@hearingconcern.org.uk , and give him your support.
He and Hearing Concern need your help to make certain that this kind of service shut down never happens again and that these useful, more functionally equivalent alternative relay services are available to all who need and depend upon them.
30.11.07
| Got to top |
Regulars
funny old life
This blog is about living with a hearing loss in London (UK), bringing up various issues surrounding hearing loss.
Latest: Just plain tired ….. YAWN!
just smudge
Hi, my name is Smudge, I’m a Hearing Dog living in London, England. I’m a cocker poo (cocker spaniel and poodle cross), a breed that’s great for people with allergies. Enjoy the read.
Latest: How I almost got run over>>
campaigns: captel
For over seventeen years, Teletec has brought the cutting edge in text communication technologies to people with hearing loss in the UK. Hearing Concern. is now campaigning for a 24 hour, 7 day and 365 day service at no cost to the user other than a standard telephone call cost.