press release

Ensuring Accurate Routing of Calls for Hard of Hearing, those Requiring Speech Communication Assistance

Dec 9, 2019

iconectiv Begins Serving as TRS Numbering Administrator for Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Services in the United States

What’s the News: As the new provider of the Telecommunications Relay Services Number Directory for iTRS in the U.S., iconectiv is ensuring that people requiring hearing and speech communication assistance can continue to rely on landline and mobile phones to communicate.
Why it Matters: Hard of hearing and those requiring speech communication assistance make millions of calls monthly. The iTRS is a vital public service that they rely on every day to communicate with friends, family, businesses and government agencies.
Who’s it For: Anyone interested in how authorized service providers use the iTRS Numbering Directory to route calls for iTRS users.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – December 9, 2019 – More than 44 million U.S. adults are hard hearing or require speech communication assistance and number is increasing faster than the population growth rate. As the new provider of the Telecommunications Relay Services Numbering Directory for Internet-based TRS (iTRS) in the U.S., iconectiv is helping to ensure that they can continue to rely on landline and mobile phones to communicate.

Under a U.S. government contract, effective Dec. 7, 2019, iconectiv began operating the TRS Numbering Directory for iTRS services on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 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.

The iTRS contract is the latest example of iconectiv’s role as the authoritative partner of the communications industry. Earlier this year, iconectiv was selected as the Policy Administrator for the nation’s Calling Number Verification Service an industry-wide solution to mitigate illegal robocalls. That service is based on the FCC-endorsed ATIS-SIP Forum SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) specification. In 2018, iconectiv became the Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) for the United States, managing the largest database of ported telephone numbers in the world.

“iTRS is a vital public service that many Americans rely on every day to connect with friends, family, businesses and government agencies,” said Richard Jacowleff, CEO, iconectiv. “Our new role a highlights iconectiv’s leadership and commitment in ensuring that consumers can continue to trust and rely on the critical telecom services that they use every day.”

For more information about how iTRS works, visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.