Thailand’s Telecommunication Relay Services (TTRS)

Telecommunication Relay Services (TTRS) for people with hearing or speech impairment is a special social service that is part of Universal Service Obligation with the aim to promote and assist those with hearing or speech impairment in accessing telecommunication services in order to communicate with others in the society. People with hearing impairment often have difficulties in communicating with other through speech. As a result, they have to communicate through alternative means such as by texting or using sign language via telecommunication device. The problem is the receiver may not have the same device available to help translate these messages or have difficulty understanding the messages directly. Hence, a medium is needed to ensure the messages are correctly communicated and understood by the sender and receiver. Similarly, people with speech impairment also have difficulties expressing the intended messages and require a medium to help communicating those messages clearly to the receiver.

Telecommunication Relay Services (TTRS) have therefore been established to act as a medium in translating the messages between the sender and the receiver, whether in a form of speech, short messages, online messages or even sign language, by a team of specialists.

TRRS Services were established under Telecommunication Business Master Plan (2 ^nd Edition) B.E. 2551 – 2553 (2008-2010) issued by the Office of The National Telecommunications Commission and of which one the key targets is to ensure complete accessibility to telecommunication services both in spatial and social dimensions. This can be observed from the 3 ^rd Strategic Plan which focuses on universal service expansion to allow wider access among rural population in remote areas and the underprivileged group as deemed appropriate and at the same time promote wider telecommunication service coverage. In 2010, a pilot project was initiated to conduct testing on Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS) Prototype among the people with hearing impairment. (http://www.ttrs.or.th)

In response, the Office of The National Telecommunications Commission must therefore cooperated with the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center in conducting research on TTRS Services for the people with hearing or speech impairment with the aim to set up a plan for TTRS establishment to be used as a guideline of practice to ensure that every objective set up by the Office of The National Telecommunications Commission has been fulfilled and that the people with hearing or speech impairment have wider and equal access to telecommunication services. This will further expand the concept of Universal Service Obligation by incorporating equal access as part of fundamental rights.

Furthermore, rural population in remote areas including the disabled and the underprivileged groups will be guaranteed with equal access and use of telecommunication services in community level, which is one of the key contributing factors in creating equality, minimizing the problem of digital divide and promoting telecommunication networks integration to allow cost reduction among telecommunication service providers which is in line with governmental policy concerning efficiency enhancement and improvement of the service quality of both public and private organization via high-speed telecommunication network to allow comprehensive and equal economic and social developments.

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Create by  -   (5/24/2017 1:14:49 PM)