NOTE: This material was
compiled by TDI to provide information on the various
options in Telecommunication Relay Services throughout the
United States. Non-commercial reproduction is encouraged
with acknowledgment of the source. TDI is a resource and
advocacy center promoting equal access to telecommunications
and media access for people who are deaf, late-deafened,
hard-of-hearing or deaf-blind. TDI has no affiliation with
any company listed, and does not offer accuracy or
endorsement. Furthermore, TDI does not warrant any product
or services mentioned herein to be in compliance with
Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section
508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or any other Federal
state or local laws. This Fact Sheet is a working document,
where its contents would be modified from time to time;
please contact TDI for recent updates or if you are aware of
corrections or additions. This document is available in
alternate formats upon request.
Multi-vendoring is here!
Now consumers who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened
or deaf-blind have several ways to use telecommunication
relay services (TRS). You may use whatever is
offered in your state, or you may use the Internet.
Internet Relay or IP-Relay has
empowered more deaf people to make relay calls from
anywhere. No longer do we have to hunt for a TTY to
make a relay call. Since the Internet is not tied to
telephone numbers or geographic boundaries, there is no
way to determine the origin of the call for billing
purposes. The Federal Communications Commission has
authorized reimbursement from the National Exchange
Carrier Association's long-distance TRS funding mechanism.
There are no additional fees beyond your normal ISP
charges.
Internet Relay today comes in two
formats. Text (TTY) to Speech (deaf to hearing) and
Video (using sign language instead of text to a remote
interpreter.) Hearing people will still need to dial
711 in order to make a relay call by voice to a deaf
person.
Several ways to use relay
services:
- Your state TRS via 711
or a dedicated toll-free number for the TRS service of
your choice.
- National Interstate TRS
provided by your long distance carrier.
- Internet (I-P) Relay. (See
list below.)
- Video Relay Service
(VRS) (See Fact
Sheet.) - If you have broadband
(DSL/Cable) and a webcam, and you prefer to
use sign language.
Residents and businesses in
some states may have some additional options.
California contracts with Verizon, Nordia AND Sprint
for traditional TRS services. Ultratec, Inc.,
a major TTY manufacturer, is conducting trials in
several states and with Federal Workers on an
experimental VCO TRS using CapTel voice-recognition
technology.
Below is a list of
nationwide Internet (IP) Relay providers.
