Caption Phone Alternatives

How CapTel captioning used to work

The CapTel® captioning phone worked in a similar way to a regular phone but added live captioning, sometimes known as transcription, subtitles, or voice-to-text.

To call a friend from your phone, you would first press a Captions button to enable captioning, then dial your friend’s number. The phone would connect you to your friend so that you could talk, just like using a traditional phone.

The phone would also connect you to the domestic captioning service, via the Internet. The captioning service would transcribe your friend’s voice into text, using a human relay officer, sometimes called a relay agent. The officer would re-read what he thought he heard into a computer (adding a delay) and then, using his keyboard, the officer would attempt to correct anything that was mis-heard or mis-captioned (adding another delay). The text was sent to your phone via your Internet connection, and appeared on a small screen built into the phone. This enabled you to read what the other person was saying.

The captioning service is run by the National Relay Service (NRS). NRS is a government initiative that offers a wide variety of services to help people who have hearing and/or speech impairments to make and receive calls.

In Feb 2020, the phones in Australia were temporarily connected to a US captioning centre, providing additional time for users to transition to alternatives. The temporary voice connection across the globe, plus the return trip for the captions, would add another 0.5-1.0 seconds to the captioning latency, slowing down what you see on the screen.

Strengths

• Direct dial: You dialed the phone number of the person you wanted to call, and vice-versa. There was no need for you or your callers to call the relay officer (as is the case with some other systems such as the Teletypewriter, also known as TTY).
• Accuracy: Captions were delayed but were usually quite accurate, due to the use of a trained Australian human relay officer, as long as the speech was not too fast.
• Emergency service: The user could pick up the handset, press the Captions button if required, and dial 000. Some TTY systems require a separate phone number and/or a 9-step procedure.

Shortcomings

• Lack of privacy: A relay officer would listen in to your phone calls.
• No video: The Captel phone does not allow video calling, so there was no ability to lip-read, perceive facial expressions, interpret emotional cues, use sign language, show objects or share screens. Video calling could otherwise augment captioning to provide a richer, multi-mode experience, and help reduce social isolation.
• Missed calls: If the phone would ring while you were in another room, you might have missed the call.

Teletypewriters are slower, smaller, harder to use, risky in emergencies

Teletypewriter (TTY) systems can be:

• Slow: The user must first make contact with a relay officer to arrange their call.
• Hard to read: The screen is much smaller, not as bright, and shows less text (1-2 lines), making it difficult for those with low vision, slow readers, and those who might misplace their glasses during an emergency.
• Difficult to use: The TTY needs many more steps and requires re-learning — making it difficult for some older adults and those with poor dexterity or poor memory.
• Risky in emergencies: There is a nine-step card that shows how to call emergency services. A different phone number is used. During an emergency, the user may forget the nine steps, the number, or fail to locate the card.

Internet-browser alternatives can be hard to use, require a new device

There are Internet browser-based captioning relay apps and services:

• New device: A computer or tablet is required. It must be left on all the time so that incoming calls are not missed.
• Potentially complicated: The browser-based services require registration, login, and multiple steps to make a call or prepare to receive a call. For many, they can be complicated and difficult to use.
• Operator: Your caller cannot simply call you directly.  The caller must call an operator and enter more digits thereafter. Many callers (such as businesses) simply may not bother to call you back.
• Employers at risk: Those who work need a solution for office and home. Employers need a solution to avoid potential legal action for workplace discrimination. A business phone cannot be diverted to a system that requires an operator to be dialed.