What is the telephone relay service? Explain based on the user's voice, such as structure and convenience.

Do you know the "telephone relay service" that will begin in July 2021? This is to smoothly carry out the telephone service between people who have difficulty in hearing and speaking (hereinafter referred to as people with hearing impairment, etc.) and people who can hear. Civilian-initiated demonstration projects were launched in 2013, but public infrastructure was finally achieved, leading to a new beginning as a sustainable and stable service.

The specific service is to add a translation operator between the hearing impaired and those who do not understand, through the translation of sign language or text and voice, meaning communication can be carried out 24 hours, 365 days, you can use the phone.

Telephone relay services can be used from smartphones, tablets and other terminals connected to the Internet.

When a hearing impaired person registered in the service makes a call from a dedicated application, it connects to the translation operator. Then, when you tell the other person that you want to connect to such a store and hospital, the operator, who does not listen to (sign language or characters), pre-chooses the way to carry out the conversation and translate the content of the voice. In addition, the operator translates the voice conversation with the audible person into sign language and text to the inaudible person, making it possible to make the phone call of the audible person and the inaudible person.

"this is a really convenient and indispensable service," said Mr. Nyanko, an active model dancer with hearing impairment.

In addition to appearing as a dancer at the opening ceremony of the Sports Festival for the disabled held from August to September 2021, she also worked with high school sign language lecturers, pop music and ballad songs from sign language societies and other songs. participate in activities such as sign language song performers who express lyrics and worldviews in sign language.

Usually in the reservation restaurant, beauty salon, when asking about lost items, often use the telephone relay service. "in order to practice sign language songs and sign language dancing, I want to use it often when booking public facilities," Nyanko said. " Let me interview the situation this time.

Call from the dedicated APP of the telephone relay service and choose whether to use "sign language" or "text" for the conversation. After selecting sign language, the translator operator appears on the screen.

"when you want to finish something early, or when there are a lot of things you want to consult and want to say, choose sign language calls that can be accurately communicated in a short period of time. However, when sign language is not good in the tram, it is very convenient to use words to talk to each other. Distinguish the use according to the different events and scenes at that time. "

Nyanko allows her phone to stand on its own feet, dialing phone numbers from apps. When the utility responds, the operator informs it that it is a telephone relay service and starts the call. Nyanko said, "can I book facilities for dance practice?" "it is communicated in sign language, and the operator translates to public facilities by voice. The operator translated the answer of "Please tell me the desired date, the type of room and the contact information of the representative" to Mr. Nyanko in sign language, and after a period of communication in the form of a response, Mr. Nanko successfully completed the appointment and the call ended.

Mr. Nyanko's appointment looks like a slight waiting time when the operator translates to the person in charge, which is no different from a voice call in the sense of real-time communication. Because of the smooth progress and communication, we even forget the inaudible differences that can be heard by looking at them. By the way, how did Mr. Nyanko make a reservation when there was no public telephone relay service?

"I use the private telephone relay service, because the period of time that can be used is fixed, so I will send a fax outside the time, or ask friends to communicate. If it's a fax, you can't reply until the next day, so it's hard to make a reservation.

Even if I ask someone to contact me, if I want to make an appointment, I will exchange free time with me every time, because it is very troublesome and it is very painful to bring burden to the other party. If there is a 24-hour telephone relay service, you don't have to bother other people's hands, and you're happy to have the feeling of 'doing it yourself'. "

Now, there are more stores and services that can make appointments and consultations through the Internet, SNS, etc., but detailed inquiries "still want to call directly."

"for example, if you want to stay in a hotel with your pet, I'd like to ask in detail about the conditions, what you need to prepare here, and so on. In addition, such as "what can you do when you want to know the surprise gift you can know when you open the room?" and impatient inquiries, you can speak directly through the telephone relay service, which feels very convenient. "

Due to the provision of public services, emergency notifications such as 110, 119 and so on can be made, which is also reassuring.

"before, I suddenly fell out of breath, and I happened to have a friend who could speak sign language with me, so it didn't help me, but it was hard to call an ambulance if I was alone. It's nice to call the police right away in the event of a disaster or a life-threatening emergency. Not only their own business, parents also grow old with age, in case something happens, as long as they can get in touch immediately, parents can also protect the sense of security. "

Throughout the world, telephone relay service has been introduced as a public service in more than 25 countries. Especially in developed countries, the G7 has only been introduced to Japan by the start of service in July 2021. It started because it was too late. "I expect it to be easier to use in the future!" "Mr. Nyanko.

"in the future, I will be very happy if I can use it in learning and other situations, as well as dealing with conversations with many people. In addition, if the technology is advanced in the future, like a three-way call, the expression of the person who wants to make a phone call will also be displayed on the screen, which is very helpful.

Now only the translator operator shows it on the screen, and the face of the person who wants to talk can't even be seen. For those who cannot hear, the expressions and movements of the other person will also become important information for communication. As long as you see the other person's condition, you will know whether you are worrying or confirming something, even if it takes a long time to answer, so you look forward to becoming a better service in the future. "

Potential telephone relay service. By the way, the cost of using telephone relay services must be borne by telephone providers such as fixed and mobile phones (au is also included) according to the number of telephone numbers.

As a result, telephone providers, including au, require a burden of 1.1yen per number per month for all users as a "telephone relay service fee" starting from the interest portion of July 2021 (August 2021 request section). Looking at the recent bill, he said, "I don't remember signing up or using the telephone relay service." "some people may think so, but realize that this is to make the service run smoothly. Interest share from July 2021 to January 2022. The interest portion will no longer be charged from February to March, 2022. In addition, annual fees are expected to be revised.

As of the end of November 2021, the number of registrations for the telephone relay service was 7933. In addition, if the number of registrations increases, more people will receive calls from the telephone relay service. At that time, if you remember, "because I am holding an interpreter, let us have enough time to have a conversation", you will not be alarmed. In addition, if someone around you needs a telephone relay service, you can also try to convey it.

A telephone relay service that removes the fence of the inaudible and the inaudible. The Chikara of communication has gradually transformed into a barrier-free society where everyone can communicate freely.