Sprint has announced a new application for those with difficulties hearing over the phone. Called Sprint WebCapTel, the free Web-based service allows users who can speak but have a hard time hearing over the phone, to read word-for-word captions of their calls on a Web browser.
With Sprint WebCapTel, users can make and receive calls on their own telephone, cell phone or even an amplified phone. During the call, they can log into www.sprintcaptel.com and read written captions of everything spoken on the call. According to Sprint, captions appear virtually at the same time as the person speaks, allowing users to enjoy a natural telephone conversation. When a call is completed, the user can save the captioned conversation.
“We are always looking for ways to offer unique and easy user experiences for our customers,” said Mike Ligas, director of Sprint Relay, in a statement. “This new solution from Sprint will offer the hard-of-hearing community with the ability to enjoy the benefits of a natural phone conversation by accessing real-time web-based captions.”
Sprint WebCapTel is free for Sprint customers anywhere in the United States. Sprint WebCapTel is an extension of Sprint’s existing CapTel service, which also provides captions during phone calls, but requires a specialized telephone to display the captions. CapTel and WebCapTel are registered trademarks of Ultratec.