Europolitan improves mobile telephony service for the deaf

Europolitan improves mobile telephony service for the deaf To make life easier for the deaf and those with impaired hearing, Europolitan and Telesta have improved the Mobile Text Telephony service. The subscription is now available for the Nokia 9110 Communicator and can be enhanced with a number of extra functions. Europolitan Mobile Text Telephony was introduced in 1998 as a special mobile subscription for those with hearing disabilities. It was awarded Best Service by the Swedish Office of the Disability Ombudsman in 1998. Europolitan has helped Telesta develop a program that can be used with the Nokia 9110 Communicator. Europolitan is the only company in the world, which offers mobile text telephony service. The deaf and people with hearing and speech impediments have not been able to use regular mobile phones until now - despite their needs for communication aids being greater than people without such disabilities. With mobile text telephony, the sender and receiver get the text displayed on their screens as it is being typed, making calls as close to regular telephony as possible. Mobile Text Telephony also allows for communication with fixed text telephones in the home. Europolitan's Mobile Text Telephony subscription and the Nokia 9110 Communicator are currently available in Europolitan stores and via Europolitan's partners. The Nokia 9110 Communicator is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, has an illuminated screen background and a longer battery life. When the phone rings, a vibrator pen, which can be kept in a pocket, is activated. The new program enables the font, size and style to be adjusted in call status and in the help file, which can be very convenient for people with defective vision, for example. A new, intuitive feature is that the settings are now accessed via the menu button. The settings function used to be accessed via a separate button. There are various short phrases, which can be used during calls. Short phrases are pre-defined messages that can be sent simply by using a short command. There is also an automatic greeting in text format that is sent directly to those who call your text telephone. This greeting message can be modified as required. For more information about the subscription, please visit: textelefon.europolitan.se. Europolitan AB is a Swedish GSM operator that prioritizes service and quality. The company's head office is in Karlskrona, Sweden. Europolitan is a leader in the field of technically advanced services for GSM 900/1800. The Europolitan Group, which also includes Europolitan AB's sister company, Europolitan Stores AB and the stock market listed Parent Company, Europolitan Holdings AB, employs around 900 people. For more information, please visit www.europolitan.se. Telesta is a mobile telecom development company that has produced Mobile Text Telephony - a service that enables the deaf and those with impaired hearing and speech to use mobile telephony services. Telesta has an agreement with Europolitan and is negotiating with several international mobile telephony operators about offering the Mobile Text Telephony service in those countries. Telesta, a part of the Aspiro-groupe, was founded in 1994 and employs 18 people with offices in Stockholm, Boston and Hong Kong. For more information, please contact: Johan Holmgren, Public Relations Manager, Europolitan AB, tel. +46 708 33 14 00, text telephone: +46 709 19 95 00 e-mail: johan.holmgren@europolitan.se Erik Snabb, Managing Director, Telesta, tel. +46 708 29 45 71, mobil text telephone: +46 708-29 45 78, e-mail: erik.snabb@telesta.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/29/19991229BIT00220/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/29/19991229BIT00220/bit0002.pdf