Nagish gets FCC certification as IP Relay provider
Nagish announced in a recent press release that it obtained their second FCC certification, for text-based IP Relay services. Nagish is an app that allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people to make calls using AI technology to translate speech-to-text and text-to-speech in real time. Nagish said this allows deaf people to have a completely private conversation without relying on human-operated third parties, stenographers, or interpreter services.
I did an interview with Matt Sherman, who is the Head of Community at Nagish.
[Begin interview]
Matt Sherman: It’s about direct communication. We believe that it is a human right to be able to speak with anyone without relying on someone else. That’s the premise of how it started, why we applied, and the process of getting certified.
Even during the years where we weren’t certified, we never charged people to use the app. We believe in giving it at no cost. We paid expenses out of our pockets to make sure users could enjoy it or use Nagish for their communication needs.
Alex: I understand. So in the past, you were self-funded? The service and all…
Matt Sherman: Yes.
Alex: Now that you’re FCC certified, you can get reimbursement from the TRS fund?
Matt Sherman: That’s right.
Alex: So that’s a big moment for you. Does this mean you no longer have to spend? You now can earn money?
Matt Sherman: That’s right. That pretty much sums up the purpose of the certification and the potential of the future.
Alex: Wow. That’s a big moment for sure. I’m curious of who are the owners of the company, the investors? Can you summarize?
Matt Sherman: Sure. The story of how Nagish started — I always tell people that it was founded a few years ago. But to be more detailed, it was founded by two co-founders, Tomer and Alon, who were both engineers at Columbia University. I joined the team very early. We’ve hired many people and it’s really grown a lot.
Alex: Now, with AI, I’m curious of what the experience is like. Can you pick a male or a female voice? Does the hearing person — how do I know if the voice is good or not?
Matt Sherman: That’s a good question. That’s another big feature that we have. When people sign up for the Nagish app, we always ask during the registration certain questions to make sure it fits with the user’s communication preferences. One question we ask is when you use keyboard texts, on whether you want the AI sound to be of a male, a female, or gender neutral. We provide three options. So those who register can set it as their default for every time they make a call.
When registering, the app will accommodate you whether you’re Deaf, hard-of-hearing, DeafBlind, have a speech disability, or others, with whatever your communication preferences are. Some want to use their voice to speak and they can do that. They also could prefer to use a keyboard. You also can use a hearing aid, a cochlear implant, or nothing. You can hear and read the captions or read captions only. Our goal is to make sure the app works for everything rather than making it rigid. We know that the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community is very diverse and big with many different needs.
[End interview]
Thanks Matt for your time. I tried out Nagish myself and made a call to a local park to ask if they would open soon. One cool feature is that it captioned the park’s automated call system with the options to press 1 for this, press 2 for that… I was able to press the numbers and continue pressing as more options came up. I felt like I was in control rather than asking someone to please press options. That was cool.
So, it’s interesting to have another relay option and one that is completely AI-powered.
https://nagish.com/post/fcc-certification-ip-relay-accessibility