# PTCL Deploys ConnectHear’s AI Sign Language Agent SILA at Customer Centers > Source: > Published: 2026-09-15 13:22:47+00:00 **September 15, 2026, (Inside AI)** — Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) will deploy an AI-powered sign language agent called SILA across its customer care centers, beginning in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. The system, built by Pakistani accessibility technology company ConnectHear, allows Deaf customers to communicate directly with service representatives in sign language without a human interpreter present. The rollout marks one of the first large-scale integrations of AI-driven sign language interpretation into a national telecom's frontline customer service operations. PTCL, the country's largest telecommunications and ICT services provider, serves millions of subscribers across Pakistan. Its partnership with ConnectHear is not new. The two organizations have worked together for several years on accessibility initiatives, including training customer-facing staff and deploying SUNO, an AI-powered early warning system that delivered emergency alerts in Pakistani Sign Language through WhatsApp during natural and man-made disasters. SILA represents the next phase: moving from awareness and training into direct service delivery. ## Why Telecom Giants Are Betting on Sign Language AI The significance extends beyond one company's customer service upgrade. Roughly **466 million** people worldwide live with disabling hearing loss, according to World Health Organization estimates, and the majority reside in low- and middle-income countries where sign language interpretation services remain scarce. In Pakistan, the Deaf community has historically depended on family members or informal volunteers to navigate basic services like banking, healthcare, and telecommunications. Professional interpreters are concentrated in major cities and charge fees that many cannot afford for routine interactions. ConnectHear's SILA addresses this gap by using computer vision and natural language processing to translate Pakistani Sign Language into text or speech in real time. The system is designed to handle two-way communication: a Deaf customer signs into a camera, SILA converts the signs into text or audio for the representative, and the representative's spoken or typed response is converted back into sign language animation or text. The exact technical architecture has not been publicly detailed, but the company describes SILA as an 'AI-powered sign language agent,' distinguishing it from older video relay services that rely on human interpreters working remotely. **Read:** **Wipro AI Productivity Push** The deployment raises practical questions. Sign language recognition remains a difficult technical problem because sign languages have their own grammar, syntax, and regional dialects. Pakistani Sign Language, like other national sign languages, differs from American or British Sign Language in vocabulary and structure. Training robust AI models requires large annotated datasets of sign language video, which are expensive to produce and often scarce outside a handful of countries. ConnectHear has not disclosed how many sign samples it used to train SILA or how the system handles regional variations within Pakistan. PTCL's Chief Marketing Officer, Amad Khan, framed the initiative as part of a broader philosophy about connectivity. **"Our partnership with ConnectHear has evolved meaningfully over the years, from sensitizing and training our customer-facing teams to leveraging technology to address some of the most important accessibility barriers faced by the Deaf community. We firmly believe that connectivity is meaningful only when it enables everyone to participate. By enhancing equitable accessibility through cutting-edge technologies, we are working to ensure that every customer can engage with us with greater dignity and independence."** (Amad Khan, Chief Marketing Officer, PTCL) ConnectHear CEO and Co-founder Azima Dhanjee emphasized the partnership's incremental approach. **"Our partnership with PTCL shows what is possible when organizations opt for sustained technology-driven action. With ConnectHear's AI-powered sign language agent, we are taking another important step by bringing sign language accessibility directly into the customer service environment. We are proud to work together and contribute towards a Pakistan where accessibility is built into everyday services."** (Azima Dhanjee, CEO and Co-founder, ConnectHear) The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. PTCL did not specify how many customer centers will receive SILA, the timeline for the full rollout, or whether the system will operate during all business hours. Inside AI could not independently verify the accuracy of SILA's real-time translation capabilities or its performance across different signing styles. **Read:** **HCLTech AI Transformation Bet** Accessibility advocates have long argued that technology alone cannot solve structural exclusion. AI sign language tools can reduce dependence on human interpreters for routine transactions, but they can also introduce new failure modes. If the system misrecognizes signs, Deaf customers may face frustration or misinformation without a human fallback. The [World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss) notes that access to timely and appropriate communication remains a persistent barrier for Deaf individuals globally, particularly in public services. PTCL's move follows a broader trend of telecom operators experimenting with AI for customer service. Most deployments focus on chatbots and voice assistants for hearing customers. Sign language AI remains rare, partly because the market is smaller and the technical challenges are greater. ConnectHear's advantage lies in its local expertise and its established relationship with PTCL, which reduces the integration risk that often derails pilot projects. The partnership also reflects a shift in how companies approach disability inclusion. Rather than treating accessibility as a compliance checkbox, PTCL and ConnectHear are embedding it into core service infrastructure. That approach mirrors what some banks and government agencies have attempted in other countries, though few have reached national scale. For now, the Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad launches will serve as a test. If SILA performs well, PTCL could extend it to more cities and service channels. If it struggles, the company may need to revisit its reliance on AI without human oversight. Either way, the experiment will provide useful data for other organizations considering similar deployments in markets where sign language interpretation is scarce and demand is high.