According to a recent study from market research firm Graphical Research, the North America telecommunication relay service market size is set to register a significant growth during the forecast timeframe, impelled by various public initiatives aimed at strengthening telecom reach for the differently abled. TRS enables people with hearing or speech impairments to make and receive phone calls with convenience. The service is accessible for local & long-distance calls in all 50 states of the region, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories.
As per mitre.org. statistics, hearing loss affects over 48 million Americans. Since the 1990s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has increased telecommunication access to this population, through the TRS program. One of the facilities provided by the FCC is allowing interstate TRS providers to offer Spanish-to-Spanish conventional TRS, due to the large number of Spanish speakers in the United States. In 2015, the commission also formed a partnership with MITRE to investigate strategies to enhance telecom access for this demographic.
Listed below are the three trends taking the market forward through 2027:
Over the past few years, the government has been supporting the differently abled community with various schemes and programs. Recently, in 2020, the FCC lifted the limits on recruiting employees for American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations. This move allowed the organizations to improve their video relay service delivery and accommodate high volume of VRS traffic.
Similar initiatives and collaborations between public and private organizations are likely to translate into positive news for the market. North America telecommunication relay service market share from the government end-use sector accounted for a staggering 65% of the total market in 2020.
Thanks to the growing penetration of mobile devices across the region, North America telecommunication relay service market share from the personal end-user segment accounted for more than 20% of the market in 2020. The expanding TRS traffic and the enterprise-wide focus on responding to these demands can be ascribed to the notable growth. To attract a wide expanse of audiences, industry leaders have opted the path of innovation & new service/product launch.
Sorenson, one of the world's leading providers of inclusive communication services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, announced a new Spanish language option for ntouch mobile for iOS customers in April 2022. Users who have opted the language of their iOS device to Spanish will now be able to view ntouch mobile text in Spanish, with this new update.
Spanish is North America's second most widely spoken language. According to babbel.com, the United States has the second highest number of Spanish speakers, with around 59.6 million. Expanding the company’s services to this vast Spanish-speaking population is a critical step in achieving real functional equivalence in business.
Due to widespread penetration of TRS and favorable government efforts, United States telecommunication relay service market size is estimated to account for $1 billion revenue through 2027. Regional governments are actively working with private companies to further expand the provision of TRS across the region. For example, the state of Texas inked a deal with T-Mobile USA Inc. in December 2020 to provide captioned telephone and telecommunications relay services throughout Texas. The country is also experiencing substantial growth as a result of unified communication and VoIP services.
Bell Canada, Convo Communications LLC, Cisco Systems Inc., Federal Relay, and Purple Communications Inc. are listed amongst the top TRs companies operating across North America.
