Groups Seek More Info on Global Caption IP CTS Application

ClearCaptions asked the FCC to seek additional information from Global Caption on how it will "ensure its proposed [automatic speech recognition]-only offering will provide functionally equivalent" IP captioned telephone services if it grants the company's application for certification to provide ASR-based IP CTS supported by the Telecom Relay Service Fund. In comments posted Tuesday in docket 03-123 (see 2204070050), ClearCaptions said it "does not believe ASR-only IP CTS delivers acceptable experiences on unscripted calls" and recommended the FCC seek information about how Global Caption will provide functionally equivalent service "when captioning on calls is or becomes problematic for the ASR system." Several advocacy groups, including the Hearing Loss Association of America, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, National Association of the Deaf, and Gallaudet University's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said the FCC should "carefully evaluate" Global Caption's application to ensure it meets the "concededly low bar" of delivering a "similar level of quality to those already certified." The groups also sought scrutiny of the quality and privacy aspects of the company's plan to provide ASR-based IP CTS to incarcerated individuals.