InnoCaption Achieves Major Milestones in 2020, Grows Active Users by 65%

Mobile app provider for real-time captioning of smartphone calls to the deaf and hard of hearing achieves FCC certification, bolsters capabilities with advanced features

BUENA PARK, Calif., Jan. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InnoCaption, a mobile app-based provider of real-time captioning of phone calls for the deaf and hard of hearing, today announced a record year in 2020 with 65% growth in active users, a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification, and a multitude of new features for its application. Growth in users and the effects of the pandemic led to skyrocketing demand for InnoCaption’s service, with average call volumes more than doubling over the course of the year. The company is proud to provide a vital communications accessibility service to its users during a turbulent year and looks forward to continuing its user-driven innovation in 2021.

The deaf and hard of hearing community has historically faced challenges when making and receiving cell phone calls to speak with friends and family, doctors, and to stay connected professionally. The need for technology to assist with virtual communication has grown over time and most recently became a necessity as a result of the pandemic. InnoCaption is the first and only mobile app to provide real-time captioning of smartphone calls to the deaf and hard of hearing at no cost to the user primarily through stenographers.

FCC Grants Certification for Automated Speech Recognition (ASR)
InnoCaption’s ASR caption mode was launched as a beta feature available to all users in March 2019 and positive results from user feedback and call quality ratings led the company to present their findings to the FCC and seek certification. In December 2020, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau granted conditional certification to InnoCaption to provide fully automatic Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) for deaf and hard of hearing Americans using ASR. InnoCaption is the only certified IP CTS provider to offer users the choice to switch between ASR and human-assisted captioning through the use of highly trained stenographers (i.e. CART). CART captioning still remains core to InnoCaption’s service and the company considers this captioning method to provide a higher level of accessibility given the level of human understanding and context that our CART providers bring.

In response to requests from the user community for support in languages other than English, InnoCaption also added the ability to generate captions of Spanish phone calls through ASR. Support for more languages will be rolled out in 2021.

“2021 promises to be a year where ASR will finally become more accepted as an enabler for accessibility as long as it is provided as a choice for the user,” said Joseph Lee, Co-CEO at InnoCaption. “In 2021, InnoCaption will be dedicating significant R&D efforts towards ensuring our ASR offering is providing high levels of service to our users. We expect to see the proliferation of ASR technology in many aspects of tech-enabled services and in consumers’ daily lives and ensure that this technology is tailored to benefit the deaf and hard of hearing community.”

New Application Features and Functionality
InnoCaption additionally brought the following updates to its user community in 2020:

• DeskView: With increased emphasis on remote work and teleconference calls in 2020, InnoCaption launched the DeskView feature that enables users to view captions from their phone mirrored on desktop devices, making conference calls more accessible and eliminating the need to toggle between computer and cell phone screens.
• Spam Call Filter: Robocalls are consistently an issue in the U.S. with Americans fending off over 4 billion spam calls a month. For the deaf and hard of hearing community that relies on phone captioning, these calls can be a greater threat because the robotic voices are not discernable through text. To help mitigate scammers from taking advantage of our users, InnoCaption rolled out a feature to filter out unlawful or suspicious phone calls.

“We’re incredibly proud of the growth of the company, what we’ve been able to create for our expanding user base, and what we have in the store for 2021 to maintain this rapid innovation,” said Joe Duarte, Co-CEO of InnoCaption. “In 2021, you will see InnoCaption accomplish higher levels of excellence and continue to advocate for policies that put the community’s needs and interests first.”

In 2021, InnoCaption is committed to expanding the company’s marketing efforts to reach deaf and hard of hearing users who are in need of captioning and don’t yet know about our service. The company will also make strategic hires to augment the team and keep up with the rapid pace of growth and development.

About InnoCaption
InnoCaption is the only FCC-certified caption phone service to offer real-time captioning of incoming and outgoing calls on smartphones through stenographers. InnoCaption also provides the option for captioning through best-in-class automated speech recognition (ASR) technology when users prefer not to have a live assistant during calls. Users can easily make and receive captioned calls through the InnoCaption mobile app, which is available on both iOS and Android phones and tablets. This captioning service is federally funded and provided free-of-charge to people whose hearing loss makes it hard to understand phone calls.

InnoCaption is committed to offering the best telecommunications accessibility solution to the deaf and hard of hearing community. The leadership team behind InnoCaption has always focused on putting the accessibility needs of users first and foremost, enabling them to drive innovation since launching the InnoCaption app in 2016.

For more information, visit www.innocaption.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contact:
Suzanne Block
E: InnoCaption@merrittgrp.com