CAPTEL TECHNOLOGY
01 / FAST
CapTel functions like a normal telephone with one exceptional difference - it displays every word the caller says, in real time.
CapTel users can read up-to-the-second on-screen captions and simultaneously use any residual hearing to listen to the caller. For missed calls, CapTel will record a captioned messages for replay.
02 / SECURE
CapTel offers user-friendly features including large display screen, sound amplification, speed-dial buttons, adjustable tone control, caller ID, built-in answering machine and one-touch customer support.
CapTel is convenient to use with existing accessibility equipment allowing users to connect to a headset, neck loop, or another listening device so that it can be hands-free. It is also hearing aid compatible (HAC).
03 / EASY
CapTel has been widely used in the USA since 2002 and has been available in Australia since 2010. More than 4000 Australians, many of them professionals, rely on CapTel to successfully operate businesses, support employment, manage investments, access services such as health care and lead productive, fulfilling lives.
TESTIMONIALS
MARY COSH
My 90-year-old mum is profoundly deaf. She was living alone, in a world of silence and becoming anxious and isolated.
Then we discovered CapTel and it changed mum’s life in so many positive ways.
CapTel keeps her connected with family, friends and other important people like her doctor, dentist and hairdresser. It means she can continue living in her own home, safe in the knowledge that she can contact the people she loves and emergency services.
CapTel has given Mum the ability to communicate on an equal basis, allowing her to live her life with dignity, confidence and a sense of joy!
SHIRLEY EDWARDS
I am a bilateral cochlear implant recipient and was the second person in Australia to get the CapTel phone in 2010.
​
One of the things I quickly found with CapTel was the independence of not having to rely on others to make calls on my behalf; it benefited me in ways I never thought imagineable since I lost my hearing some 30 years ago.
It brought me freedom and took me out of isolation but, most of all it gave me back that confidence that I had lost many years ago.
The feature of CapTel that is most important to me is that I can dial emergency services if needed and the hearing members of my family can use the CapTel phone just by turning off the captions.
​
ABOUT US
OUR VISION
Captioned Telephony Service Ltd (CTS) facilitates equity of access to the telecommunications network for people who are Deaf, hard of hearing or have a hearing or speech impairment.
CTS is dedicated to developing life-changing technologies that enhance the communication experiences of the communities it serves.
OUR STORY
The CTS Board and Management has many decades of experience in the telecommunications and IT sectors, as well as service provision for the disability and community sectors.
​
For over 10 years, members of the CTS team were responsible for supporting the delivery of CapTel in Australia via the National Relay Service.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
CTS champions the concept of ‘functional equivalence’. We believe telecommunications equipment and services must be accessible to and usable by people who are Deaf or hearing impaired.
​
As well as education and research around equal communication access, our engineering team has a proven track record of developing new tech to bridge communication gaps.
KAROLYN NIUKKANEN
DIRECTOR
For over 15 years Karolyn has been involved with the Senior Management Teams and Boards of a number of charitable and commercial organisations providing products and services to Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) Australians.
Karolyn’s input and productivity in support of the strategic outcomes of these organisations has included working directly with USA providers of telecommunication
products into Australia.
STEPHEN COUTTS
DIRECTOR
Stephen was a long-term adviser to NSW Premier and Treasurer Nick Greiner and NSW Minister Jim Longley. Since 1995, he has been a government relations adviser to a wide range of companies across different industry sectors, including energy and utilities, banking and finance, infrastructure, health and ICT. Stephen is a former Chair of Hear for You, a charity for deaf and hearing impaired teenagers.
TONY BENNETTS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR &
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Tony has more than 30 years IT and telecommunications management and project experience internationally, including product and software development. Tony has spent the past 14 years creating a range of award-winning accessibility technologies for Australia's National Relay Service.
WHAT WE DO
Captioned Telephony Service's talented engineers are responsible for powering innovative communications solutions
to improve the connectedness of all Australians. Our projects and services include:
Techfinder.org.au
Learn, contribute and engage with the latest information about communication tech.
OpenAccess Tours
Multiple access options for a full museum or gallery tour experience.
OpenAccess Excursions
Inclusive learning on field trips and excursions for improved educational outcomes.
OpenAccess Chat
Affordable and flexible face-to-face communication with anyone at anytime.
OpenAccess
Face to Face
Real-time communication between spoken and AUSLAN sign language to help you connect.
Braille CapTel
World-first telephone technology for people who are both Deaf and blind.
OpenAccess
Smart Auslan
A great way to learn AUSLAN. Build a sentence in English and then convert it to AUSLAN.
OpenAccess Alerts
Keep informed on important announcements wherever you are, with text-based alerts.