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Volume I
Section 1.2: A Brief History of Remote Interpreting

as top providers. In general, demand for OPI services was driven by national language policies and
immigration. This trend has continued and, once the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, it has accelerated.
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OPI is considered by many to be the first true remote interpreting because it was the first technology
that allowed the interpreter to work from an entirely different location from the participants.

Audio-only interpreting (AOI)
Nowadays, technology is transforming traditional over-the-phone technology into what is referred
to as audio-only interpreting or AOI. AOI is defined here as:

Interpreting conducted via a device or platform using only audio channels when the
interpreter or at least one participant is in a remote location.
Audio-only interpreting may still occur on telephones, but it also takes place through other technologies,
such as computer-based platforms that don’t require a telephone line at all. For this reason, this book
will refer to audio-only interpreting as the all-encompassing term, which includes telephonic/OPI.
However, since the term AOI is still not commonly used, and OPI is often used in place of AOI, this
book will frequently reference OPI even for instances when telephone lines may not be involved.

Video relay service (VRS)
Video relay service, or VRS, is a form of telecommunications relay service that allows individuals
with hearing disabilities who use sign language to communicate with voice telephone users through
video equipment. 7

VRS is defined by the authors as follows:

A video interpreting service funded by the U.S. government for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing people that enables them to make phone calls to any hearing person with the
assistance of American Sign Language interpreters.

Note 1: Video equipment is used by those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing to communicate
with voice telephone users.

Note 2: All participants are in different locations, and VRS can be used only when the Deaf
or Hard of Hearing person is in a physically separate location from the person they are calling,

Note 3: Even if VRS is government funded, private companies provide the interpreting
service and platforms and, in the U.S. model, receive reimbursement for minutes interpreted
from the government. The Deaf or Hard of Hearing person can sign up with as many
providers as they wish; they receive an assigned phone number for each platform and can
place calls and receive calls via that phone number and platform.

6 Global Market for Outsourced Interpreting Services Hit US$2.5 Billion in 2007, New Common Sense Advisory
Research Report Reveals. CSA Research. Retrieved from: https://csa-research.com/Blogs-Events/CSA-in-the-Media/
Press-Releases/-2-5-Billion-Market-for-Outsourced-Interpreting-Services
7 Video Relay Services. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved from: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/
guides/video-relay-services

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