British Telecom (BT), a leading provider of communications solutions, has signed a contract with the Ministry of Social Affairs in the UAE towards its drive for delivering technologies to the speech and hearing challenged.

UAE’s Echo of Silence project aims to enable people with speech and hearing impediments to use telephony and Internet service with the help of technology, such as voice to text and text to voice relay and internet relay.

The hearing and speech impaired will be provided with communication services tailored to their needs. Additionally, advanced technical programmes will be provided to ensure ease of use of the communication equipments, providing impaired with independence and new job opportunities.

“The project aims to enable people with speech and hearing impediments to communicate with each other and with other people in society by providing them with advanced technology services and modern communication equipments,” said Mariam Mohammad Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs.

The Echo of Silence project is conducted in accordance with the principles of equality and equal opportunities provided for by the terms of the Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 concerning the rights of the disabled, including the provision of the environment to ensure qualified people will disabilities have easy access to information and communication with the community around him.

The project, delivered under the supervision of the national Telecom Regulatory Authority, draws on BT’s extensive expertise in developing technologies to aid of hearing in its home market.

Wael El Kabbany, general manager, BT Middle East and North Africa, said: “We are very proud the Ministry of Social Affairs has chosen our technology and know-how for one of the most ambitious social inclusion projects in the country.”

“As the world’s first telco operator, BT has been at the forefront of technological development throughout its long history and was one of the first operators to develop solutions that aid hearing and speech impaired,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service