BT launches next generation text service
06/10/2014
BT launches next generation text' service Making using the phone easier for people with speech and hearing impairment
BT has today launched its new Next Generation Text (NGT) service, which will make it much easier for people with hearing and speech impairment to make phone calls.
NGT enables people who need to use text, to communicate with others over the phone either directly or through a relay assistant. The relay assistant acts as an intermediary to convert speech to text and vice versa for the two people in conversation.
The new service gives deaf, hearing and speech impaired people greater freedom and flexibility and allows them to communicate in real time, from a variety of locations, using a range of mobile devices. Customers can now make faster, more fluent phone calls using ordinary smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs as well as their existing specialised terminals.
A free app compatible with Android and Apple devices, and personal computers, enables customers to use NGT with internet connected devices.
Phone call and text app channels are open at the same time with NGT allowing a conversation to flow more naturally. People with some hearing can still have a voice conversation, but with the added back-up of text in case they do not quite catch something. If the person cannot hear, but can use their voice, the phone allows them to speak directly to the other person while the app displays the other person's speech translated to text by the relay assistant.
If the user's speech is impaired, but they have no difficulty in hearing, they can use the app to type via the text relay and the phone to listen. Their text will be translated into speech by the relay assistant.
When they are out and about, users can use mobile data or connect to public wi-fi networks and enjoy improved conversation speeds, with the choice of two-way text or speech. The NGT service also offers the option of making direct text-to-text calls using their internet-connected device.
Users can link a TextNumber, which looks like a standard phone number, to their home, work or mobile number so that when someone dials the TextNumber the call is automatically connected to the NGT service without the need for a caller to dial a special prefix.
BT has been holding trials of the Next Generation Text service since March this year and the service has been warmly received by the customers taking part.
Mike Aston, who is a senior architectural technologist with Warwickshire County Council, said: NGT has really exceeded my expectations and certainly makes life a lot easier for deaf people. 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. 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.
Colin Lees, BT Business chief information officer, said: This is a really important development. Whatever your hearing or speech impairment, this will make using the phone much simpler and easier. The app is free and easy to download and will give you greater flexibility and freedom - you can use the service at home, at work or on the move without the need for a specialised device.
The new NGT Lite app can be downloaded free for computers at www.ngts.org.uk. For Android smartphones and tablets, the app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and it can be downloaded from the Apple Store for iPhones and iPads. Customers can also find more information about NGT and how it could benefit them at the website www.ngts.org.uk.
BT's Next Generation Text service is available to its own customers and is being provided on a wholesale basis to other communications providers so they can serve their customers. NGT replaces BT's existing text relay service, which has given valued service to customers for more than 20 years.
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369.
All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
Notes to editors
About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of five lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT Wholesale and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2014, BT Group's reported revenue was £18,287m with reported profit before taxation of £2,312m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com.
LINK: | http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/ShowArticle.cfm?ArticleID=6C521F24-... |
See more stories from bt |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
15/05/2024
The CW Gets Rights to 11 PAC-12 Football Games
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network has announced it will be the broadcast home for 11 Pac-12 football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State during the u...
15/05/2024
Nielsen: Disney Is Top Media Distributor with 11.5% of TV Usage
NEW YORK Disney has landed on top of Nielsens newly launched Media Distributor Gauge, which offers its first cross-platform view of total TV consumption across ...
15/05/2024
Max Sets a May 21 Streaming Debut for 'Dune: Part Two
Warner Bros. Discoverys Max streaming services has finally set a launch date for Dune: Part Two with the announcement that the film will begin streaming on Thur...
15/05/2024
FCC Establishes Spectrum Steering Team
WASHINGTON, D.C. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead the FCC's efforts to develo...
15/05/2024
Gary Heelas joins TSL as principal engineer
TSL said the appointment marks a strategic enhancement in the companys commitment to focusing on UK and US-designed and manufactured solutions By Jenny Priestl...
15/05/2024
Is Sony about to pull out of its bid for Paramount?
Sony and Apollo may decide to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley P...
15/05/2024
Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration
The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 14th) By Jenny Priestley Published: May 15, 2024 The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 1...
15/05/2024
Matrox Video Demos at InfoComm 2024 Will Showcase New AVo...
Technology innovator Matrox Video today announced that the company will highlight its leading AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies including the brand-new, next-g...
15/05/2024
RMi Amplifies Connectivity and Clarity at Major 2024 Musi...
Riedel Communications today announced its pivotal role in bringing unparalleled audio clarity and connectivity to one of the U.S.'s biggest 2024 music and a...
15/05/2024
Chyron Unveils Significant Updates to Chyron LIVE Cloud P...
Chyron today released a series of significant updates to its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production platform that were demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in La...
15/05/2024
VisualOn to Showcase Revolutionary Optimizer Content-Awar...
VisualOn, a leader in video software technology, is set to unveil its groundbreaking Optimizer suite at Broadcast Asia 2024. The unveiling will take place in th...
15/05/2024
StreamVue announce exclusive parnership with DigiBox
StreamVue, one of the global leaders in IPTV and digital signage solutions is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with DigiBox, one of the...
15/05/2024
Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo
Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that...
15/05/2024
Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark
Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Popular Rendering Benchmark Brings Back CPU/GPU Stats in a Minute; New Benchmark...
15/05/2024
Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated Sports Production & Streaming Solution
Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated...
15/05/2024
That Station Artist Notes Series Returns This Summer
Artist Notes is back! Join That Station this summer for the conversation and concert series where you get to hear an artist on stage to not only play music, but...
15/05/2024
Assembling Disney's Upfront: It Takes More Than Magic (Video)
A lot goes into making The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation....
15/05/2024
Madhive Names Premion Founder Jim Wilson President
Madhive, which provides technology for local connected TV advertising, said that it named Jim Wilson as president....
15/05/2024
Amazon Prime Video Swings With Nicholas Cage Spider-Man Series
At its first upfront presentation to advertisers, Amazon Prime Video announced new series and renewed some of its hits....
15/05/2024
Nielsen Crowns Disney in New Ranking of Media Distributors
Nielsen released a new ranking of companies in the media distribution business, including broadcast, cable and streaming, and The Walt Disney Co. was at the top...
15/05/2024
Latin Culture Is Key at TelevisaUnivision Upfront
TelevisaUnivision told advertisers at its upfront presentation Tuesday about more ways they can connect with Latin culture, including through music and live eve...
14/05/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Stephen Maing, the Co-Director of Union
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
14/05/2024
The Making of The Fall Guy
The feature film The Fall Guy marks the latest collaboration between director David Leitch and cinematographer Jonathan Sela, ASC. Sela describes the movie as ...
14/05/2024
Aerojet Rocketdyne to be Propulsion Provider for the Next Generation Interceptor
Notional render of Lockheed Martins Next Generation Interceptor. Credit: Lockheed Martin...
14/05/2024
5 Misconceptions About Satellite Imagery, Part 2
Access to commercial satellite imagery has become increasingly democratized. Students, startups, researchers and casual enthusiasts are leveraging satellite dat...
14/05/2024
Grass Valley Equips Fujairah TV with Advanced Live Production Technology
Montreal, Canada - May 14, 2024 - Grass Valley, a leader in live production solutions, proudly announces its collaboration with Fujairah TV, a prominent broadca...
14/05/2024
OpenVault Harnesses Generative AI to Improve Broadband Networks
JERSEY CITY, N.J. & COLOGNE, Germany OpenVault has released new details about how it is leveraging the power of Generative AI to significantly and securely expa...
14/05/2024
Comcast Plans Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ Streaming Bundle
Comcast is planning to begin offering a new streaming bundle of Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ sometime later this month at a vastly reduced price, Comcast ch...
14/05/2024
Chyron Releases Enhancements For LIVE Cloud Production Platform
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released a series of updates for its LIVE cloud-native production platform....
14/05/2024
CueScript announces passing of founder Brian Larter
Larter co-founded CueScript with Michael Accardi in 2014 By Jenny Priestley Published: May 14, 2024 Updated: May 15, 2024 Larter co-founded CueScript wi...
14/05/2024
EMG Gravity Media Showcases its Combined Live Broadcast E...
EMG / Gravity Media, will be sharing the Group's knowledge and expertise at The Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), held on 15th and 16th May in Lond...
14/05/2024
Glensound highlights the latest in networked audio at Bro...
Glensound, industry leader in high quality audio systems, is showcasing the latest additions to its extensive portfolio of networked audio products at Broadcast...
14/05/2024
Spotlight on UK Media Tech Vendors at BroadcastAsia
The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland pavilion at BroadcastAsia 2024 (stand 6I1-5, Singapore Expo, 29 31 May) puts a group of innovative and dynamic media te...
14/05/2024
LOGIC and video processing specialist Comprimato announce...
LOGIC media solutions and video processing specialist Comprimato have entered a partnership aimed at simplifying workflows in the IP- and cloud-based production...
14/05/2024
Relo Metrics Makes a Major Debut at Cannes Lions Internat...
Relo Metrics (formerly GumGum Sports), the leading AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform for real-time data decisions, has today announced its participation...
14/05/2024
Lightware at Infocomm 2024 - Its Time to Double Down on U...
Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market, announced it will showcase a rang...
14/05/2024
Calrec Craft Interview - Aston Fearon Sound Supervisor
Tell us about your path to professional audio. How did you get started and what drew you to the field and technical nature of being an audio professional? As ...
14/05/2024
Fox Details 2024-2025 Schedule Before Upfront Presentation
Fox will share its 2024-2025 schedule at its upfront presentation May 13 in New York, with new shows such as Denis Leary single-cam comedy Going Dutch and the J...
14/05/2024
NBCUniversal Upfront Features Jimmy Fallon, Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Kelly Clarkson
The NBCUniversal upfront presentation kicked off at New York's Radio City Mu...
14/05/2024
NBCUniversal Stakes Claim To the Future of Advertising (Upfronts)
At a time when many are questioning the value of television advertising, NBCUniversal declared that it has more to offer than newcomers like Amazon, Netflix and...
14/05/2024
Fox Upfront Presentation Offers a Little Jon Hamm, a Little More Tom Brady, a Little More Gordon Ramsay
Fox's upfront presentation, at The Manhattan Center Monday, May 13, kicked o...
14/05/2024
Broadcast Nets Show Gains in Ad Impressions Despite Strikes, iSpot Study Finds
Despite strikes that wiped out original programming last season and a narrative about viewers streaming more and watching less linear TV, the big broadcast netw...
14/05/2024
Opinion: Why it's important to give broadcast engineers support in the move to IP
Ed Calverley, manager at large, SMPTE UK, discusses how organisations can help t...
14/05/2024
Sphere completes HOLOPLOT acquisition
HOLOPLOTs proprietary technology enables precise and digital control of sound propagation and localisation to deliver targeted, consistent and immersive audio, ...
14/05/2024
TVBEurope appoints Jenny Priestley as content director
Matthew Corrigan has also recently joined the TVBEurope editorial team as content writer By TVBEurope Staff Published: May 14, 2024 Matthew Corrigan has a...
14/05/2024
Gary Heelas Joins TSL as Principal Engineer
LOS ANGELES Gary Heelas has joined TSL as principal engineer in the company's U.S. office, the company announced....
14/05/2024
Gray Television Inks AAPB Deal for Summer Baseball
ATLANTA Gray Television Inc. has announced an agreement to bring select American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) games to free, over-the-air local t...
14/05/2024
Adsmovil Expands Nuestra.TV Distribution
MIAMI, Fla. Adsmovil has expanded access to its free, ad-supported, streaming TV service, Nuestra.TV to include Apple TV, Android TV, Smart TVs, Android media p...