Draft:Rogervoice
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications accessibility |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Olivier Jeannel |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
| Products | Real-time captioned telephone and telecommunications relay services |
| Website | rogervoice |
Rogervoice is a French telecommunications accessibility company that develops real-time captioned telephone and relay services for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have speech disabilities. The company was founded in 2013 by Olivier Jeannel and launched its mobile application in 2015.[1][2]
In France, Rogervoice has participated in the provision of national telecommunications relay services since 2018.[3] In 2024, the Federal Communications Commission granted Rogervoice conditional certification to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service in the United States.[4]
History
[edit]Rogervoice was founded by Olivier Jeannel, a French-American entrepreneur who became profoundly deaf at the age of two. Jeannel grew up in California, where he had access to services for deaf people, including telephone relay services.[5]
He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and later at Sciences Po in Paris. Before founding Rogervoice, he worked at Orange.[6]
In 2014, Rogervoice launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to finance development of its mobile application. TechCrunch reported that the service was designed to transcribe the other party's speech during a telephone call and allow the user to reply using speech or text-to-speech technology.[1]
The same year, Forbes profiled the project and described its intended use of automatic speech recognition to make telephone conversations accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing users.[7] Rogervoice was also discussed by the Canadian technology program Spark on CBC Radio One.[8]
The application was released first on Android in 2015 and subsequently on iOS.[2] Le Figaro reported in December 2015 that the application provided real-time telephone captions without depending on the availability of a human intermediary.[9]
Services
[edit]Real-time telephone captioning
[edit]Rogervoice provides real-time captioning of telephone calls using automatic speech recognition. During a call, the speech of the other participant is converted into text that can be read by the user.[9][7]
The service also supports text-based replies that are converted into synthesized speech.[1]
Telecommunications relay services
[edit]Rogervoice provides telecommunications relay services for deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafblind and speech-disabled users. In France, these services combine automated transcription with assistance from accessibility professionals, including sign-language interpreters and cued-speech coders.[3]
Operations
[edit]France
[edit]Article 105 of France's 2016 Law for a Digital Republic and its implementing decree established telephone-accessibility requirements for telecommunications operators, large companies and public services.[10]
In October 2018, the Fédération Française des Télécoms launched a national interpersonal telecommunications service for deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafblind and aphasic users. The service was made available through the Rogervoice application.[3]
United States
[edit]On January 17, 2024, the FCC granted Rogervoice conditional certification to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service, or IP CTS, in the United States. The certification allowed the company to receive compensation from the federal Telecommunications Relay Service Fund while the FCC evaluated its application for full certification.[4]
In January 2026, the FCC extended the conditional certification while continuing its review of Rogervoice's application.[11]
In April 2026, Speech Technology Magazine reported that Rogervoice had launched its United States operations.[12]
See also
[edit]- Assistive technology
- Captioned telephone
- Deaf culture
- Telecommunications device for the deaf
- Telecommunications relay service
- Video relay service
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Butcher, Mike (September 26, 2014). "With RogerVoice, Deaf People Can Make Their First Phone Calls". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ a b "Android Developer Story: RogerVoice takes advantage of beta testing to launch its app on Android first". Android Developers Blog. October 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Lancement du premier service de télécommunications interpersonnelles dédié aux personnes sourdes, malentendantes, sourdaveugles et aphasiques" [Launch of the first interpersonal telecommunications service for deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafblind and aphasic people]. Fédération française des télécoms (in French). October 8, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ a b "FCC Grants Conditional IP CTS Certification for NexTalk, Inc. and Rogervoice". Federal Communications Commission. January 17, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "Olivier Jeannel, sourd depuis l'enfance : de la Californie à la France, deux regards sur le handicap" [Olivier Jeannel, deaf since childhood: two perspectives on disability, from California to France]. French Morning (in French). Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "Olivier Jeannel, RogerVoice : l'appli qui permet aux sourds de téléphoner" [Olivier Jeannel, RogerVoice: the app that enables deaf people to make telephone calls]. La Tribune (in French). Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ a b Guerrini, Federico (September 26, 2014). "RogerVoice, An Android App That Helps The Deaf Have A Conversation On The Phone". Forbes. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "Rogervoice". CBC Radio One. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ a b "L'application RogerVoice permet aux sourds de téléphoner" [The RogerVoice application enables deaf people to make telephone calls]. Le Figaro (in French). December 2, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "Décret n° 2017-875 du 9 mai 2017 relatif à l'accès des personnes handicapées aux services téléphoniques" [Decree No. 2017-875 of May 9, 2017 concerning access to telephone services for people with disabilities]. Légifrance (in French). May 9, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "FCC Extends Conditional Certifications for Rogervoice to Provide IP CTS and Tive to Provide VRS". Federal Communications Commission. January 16, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ^ "Rogervoice Launches in the U.S." Speech Technology. April 14, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
External links
[edit]Category:2013 establishments in France Category:Accessibility Category:Android (operating system) software Category:Assistive technology Category:Companies based in Paris Category:IOS software Category:Telecommunications companies of France