Central Texas TeleCommunications

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE

IMPLEMENTATION OF 7-1-1 Every day, approximately 1.8 million deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled Texans and their hearing friends and family rely on the interpretive services provided by the Telecommunications Relay System, Relay Texas. On October 10, 2000*, CTTC officially implemented the use of 7-1-1 as an easier means to access Relay Texas. The implementation of 7-1-1 will supplement access to the Texas Relay System and will NOT replace or change the existing 800 access numbers for voice or TTY users. How does 7-1-1 work? By dialing 7-1-1, both hearing and deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-impaired users can initiate a Relay Texas call. Specially trained operators of the Relay Texas System answer the calls to the Relay Center and relay the conversation between the two parties by using equipment that enables them to hear the voice user and read the signals from the TTY (text telephone) user. All calls are handled with strict confidentiality.

Relay Texas service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or the length of the calls. Relay Texas users can communicate to anywhere in the United States. There is no charge for Relay calls made within your local calling scope. To learn more about Relay Texas, contact the Relay Texas office at 1-800-676-3777 or the Public Utility Commission of Texas at 512-936- 7136 (TTY) or 1-888-782-8477 (V); relaytx@puc.state. tx.us; http://www.puc.texas.gov/relaytexas/Overview.aspx SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (STAP) The Specialized Telecommunications Assistance Program (STAP) provides financial assistance to help Texas residents with disabilities purchase basic specialized equipment or services needed to access the telephone network. For more information, contact the Texas Health & Human Services Commission at 512-438-4880 (Voice) or https://hhs.texas.gov . This program is open to all individuals who are residents of Texas and have a disability and need assistance in accessing the telephone network. Please note the TTY service is no longer available due to the number of Relay services available. Please refer to the Relay Texas sections on this page for further assistance. RELAY TEXAS Relay Texas is a telecommunications service for the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired. This service relays calls between a person using a TDD or other assisting devices and any other telephone user within the state. The service also allows a person without a TDD to call a TDD user. Specifically trained personnel are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to relay the call. There is no extra charge for this service. Calls placed to destinations within the state of Texas will be billed at a discounted rate. Long Distance calls placed through RELAY TEXAS will be billed at U.S. Sprint rates. To use RELAY TEXAS or obtain more information, call toll free: If you have a TDD, 1-8-RELAY TX (1-800-735-2989) If you do not have a TDD, 1-800-RELAY VV (1-800-735-2988)

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