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Posted by Cory Garone on 5/5/20 5:20 PM

Today's Regulatory Mix: FCC Announces First-Ever Certification for Automatic Speech Recognition IP Captioned Telephone Service, FCC Commissioner and U.S. Representative Announce Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity

FCC Announces First-Ever Certification for Automatic Speech Recognition IP Captioned Telephone Service

Hand holding smartphone with colorful app icons conceptThe FCC announced that it granted conditional certification to MachineGenius to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) using only automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology.

This is the first such grant and provides an opportunity for advanced technology to meet the FCC’s high reliability standards in providing captioned telephone service for deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans. Conditional certification permits MachineGenius to receive Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund compensation pending verification that its service to registered users meets or exceeds the FCC’s minimum TRS standards.  

“Broadening the available options for accessible communications is essential to keeping Americans with disabilities connected to their communities,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  “So often we have found that technology can provide important solutions to the challenges of ensuring the availability and reliability of accessible communications.  We’re hopeful that this new tool will help bridge the communications divide while meeting our stringent requirements.”

MachineGenius’s app, called Olelo, includes mobile telephony features, such as call history, captioned voicemail, and speakerphone.  Assistive devices and accessories may be used with Olelo.  By delivering ASR-generated captions on an over-the-top smartphone app, MachineGenius says it is able to reduce the cost and increase the speed of delivery of telephone captions, while providing a degree of accuracy comparable to captioning provided by communications assistants.

 

FCC Commissioner and U.S. Representative Announce Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity

The FCC announced that U.S. Representative Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14) and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will virtually host Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity. This event will explore how the digital divide has exacerbated already existing inequities that impact the city of Detroit and other similarly situated cities in Michigan and throughout the United States. Panelists will present solutions for addressing the digital divide on a local, state, and federal level and will particularly focus on the urgent matter of connecting children, low-income communities, and communities of color to affordable and reliable broadband.  This hour-long event will be livestreamed at www.fcc.gov/live.

us-capitol-building-and-congress“In Detroit, nearly half (40%) of the population has no internet connection of any kind, making it impossible for students and employees to continue their schooling and work remotely.  This lack of high-speed internet access is being felt even more acutely than normal due to COVID-19.  The ongoing spread of COVID-19 has disrupted daily life and made clear that high-speed internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity.  At a time when Congress is discussing massive investments in infrastructure, we must ensure that broadband is part of the conversation,” said Congresswoman Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.

 

State Regulatory Actions COVID-19

 

Topics: FCC, Michigan, BIAS, Michigan broadband internet access, IP CTS, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, U.S. Congress

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Posted by Cory Garone on 5/5/20 5:20 PM

Today's Regulatory Mix: FCC Announces First-Ever Certification for Automatic Speech Recognition IP Captioned Telephone Service, FCC Commissioner and U.S. Representative Announce Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity

FCC Announces First-Ever Certification for Automatic Speech Recognition IP Captioned Telephone Service

Hand holding smartphone with colorful app icons conceptThe FCC announced that it granted conditional certification to MachineGenius to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) using only automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology.

This is the first such grant and provides an opportunity for advanced technology to meet the FCC’s high reliability standards in providing captioned telephone service for deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans. Conditional certification permits MachineGenius to receive Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund compensation pending verification that its service to registered users meets or exceeds the FCC’s minimum TRS standards.  

“Broadening the available options for accessible communications is essential to keeping Americans with disabilities connected to their communities,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  “So often we have found that technology can provide important solutions to the challenges of ensuring the availability and reliability of accessible communications.  We’re hopeful that this new tool will help bridge the communications divide while meeting our stringent requirements.”

MachineGenius’s app, called Olelo, includes mobile telephony features, such as call history, captioned voicemail, and speakerphone.  Assistive devices and accessories may be used with Olelo.  By delivering ASR-generated captions on an over-the-top smartphone app, MachineGenius says it is able to reduce the cost and increase the speed of delivery of telephone captions, while providing a degree of accuracy comparable to captioning provided by communications assistants.

 

FCC Commissioner and U.S. Representative Announce Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity

The FCC announced that U.S. Representative Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14) and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will virtually host Connecting Michigan: From Internet Inequality to Digital Equity. This event will explore how the digital divide has exacerbated already existing inequities that impact the city of Detroit and other similarly situated cities in Michigan and throughout the United States. Panelists will present solutions for addressing the digital divide on a local, state, and federal level and will particularly focus on the urgent matter of connecting children, low-income communities, and communities of color to affordable and reliable broadband.  This hour-long event will be livestreamed at www.fcc.gov/live.

us-capitol-building-and-congress“In Detroit, nearly half (40%) of the population has no internet connection of any kind, making it impossible for students and employees to continue their schooling and work remotely.  This lack of high-speed internet access is being felt even more acutely than normal due to COVID-19.  The ongoing spread of COVID-19 has disrupted daily life and made clear that high-speed internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity.  At a time when Congress is discussing massive investments in infrastructure, we must ensure that broadband is part of the conversation,” said Congresswoman Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

____________________________

The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.

 

State Regulatory Actions COVID-19

 

Topics: FCC, Michigan, BIAS, Michigan broadband internet access, IP CTS, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, U.S. Congress

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