VCO phones

[Elve]

My mother is profoundly deaf and we are trying to purchase a landline phone that will allow her to read VCO text on incoming calls instead of listening which she is now unable to do. My sister lives in France and can no longer communicate with our mother over a normal phone, even one recommended for someone who is extremely deaf. Can anyone recommend a suitable phone please or are we unable to use this technology in this country?

[TwoScoops]

Text relay is the service that you want. I don't have a direct experience but from a quick read, if your mother is able to use a smartphone, then you don't need to buy any further equipment, apart from a standard phone, a smartphone and internet access.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-tele...xt-relay-guide

Another option, that isn't two way real-time communication, is via YouTube. It can automatically generate subtitles or captions for a video. Your sister records a video, uploads it to YouTube, set it to private, let YouTube generate subtitles, then send a link to it to your mother by email. YouTube voice recognition is quite good, I would say it's over 95% accurate.

[nukecad]

I think that Relay UK is what you are meaning, that involves an operator who listens/reads the conversation and 'translates' between speech and text in either direction:
https://www.relayuk.bt.com/

Other options:

You can send text messages to/from landlines, you'll need a landline phone that can display text, eg. one with caller ID.
Maybe not ideal, but it is an option.
https://www.bt.com/help/landline/all-about-bt-text-

A better option would be a video call, Zoom, Skype, Teams, Google Meet, etc. on either a mobile or laptop and turn the subtitling on.
https://www.ideasforears.org.uk/blog...r-video-calls/