Ensures the Accurate Routing of Calls for Individuals Who Are Hard of Hearing or Require Speech Communications Assistance
BRIDGEWATER, NJ - October 31, 2024 - In a country where more than 44 million adults age 20 years and older have some level of hearing loss, Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Services (iTRS) serves as a vital public service, giving individuals who are hard of hearing or require speech communications assistance the ability to communicate with friends, family, businesses and government agencies via landline and mobile phones. To ensure the accurate routing of these phone calls, iconectiv has been awarded a contract renewal and will continue operating the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Numbering Directory for iTRS services on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – a role they have been serving since 2019.
With this faction of the American public making millions of calls monthly, fixed, mobile, VoIP and other authorized service providers rely on the TRS numbering directory to route calls to U.S. residents who are iTRS users. TRS is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories for local and/or long-distance calls.
"iTRS is a crucial lifeline for countless Americans, enabling daily connections with their loved ones, businesses and government agencies,” said Richard Jacowleff, CEO, iconectiv. “This contract renewal stands as a testament to our unwavering leadership and continued commitment to serving this vital sector. We are proud to play our part in continuing to help deliver an essential telecom solution that consumers both depend on and can trust."
iconectiv’s iTRS contract renewal is an example of the company’s role as a trusted, authoritative partner of the communications industry. Since 2018, iconectiv has served as the Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) for the United States, managing the largest database of ported telephone numbers in the world. iconectiv signed a contract extension earlier this year to serve as America’s LNPA until May 2031. In addition, in 2019 iconectiv was selected as the Policy Administrator for the nation’s Calling Number Verification Service – an industry-wide solution to mitigate illegal robocalls that is based on the SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) specification.
For more information about how iTRS works, visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.