Case Study: TEXTBLUE achieves nationwide 9-1-1 SMS access for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Speech-Impaired Canadians with AGENTS511

Canadian Wireless Carriers Improve Access to 911 Services to the Deaf, Hearing, And Speech Impaired Community With TEXTBLUE

TextBlue needed a national solution to give the deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired community reliable access to 9-1-1 via text as part of the CRTC T911 initiative. Agent511 (with partner Impact Mobile) was selected to build and deliver that capability, using the TEXTBLUE Emergency Services Message Entity (ESME) to meet the carriers’ and regulators’ requirements.

Agent511 deployed TEXTBLUE nationwide across all Canadian wireless carriers and more than 300 9-1-1 centres, providing session-oriented, multicarrier text messaging with browser and web‑service interfaces, English/French auto‑language switching, and customized templates, transfer logic, and business rules. The rollout—piloted and largely completed in 2013—gave registered wireless users a direct text channel to 9-1-1, improving access for the more than 15% of adults with hearing loss and delivering measurable nationwide coverage and adoption.

TextBlue

Janice Lyons

Head of Interpreting Services