Telecommunications Relay provides a vital link for effective telephone communication between people who use a TTY and those who use a standard telephone. A TTY (also called a TDD, TT, or text telephone) is a device that allows people who cannot hear and/or speak to type and read their telephone conversations.
Telephone and TTY users are able to access the relay 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Calls are relayed by highly trained operators called Communication Assistants (CAs) who act as the “invisible” link between two callers. During a relay call, a CA will voice everything typed by the TTY user and type everything said by the standard telephone user. In this way, the relay allows people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Speech Disabled to have an interactive telephone conversation with anyone, any time, even if the person they are calling does not have TTY compatible equipment.
In Wisconsin,
Telecommunications Relay is provided by Society’s Assets, Inc., under
sub-contract to and in conjunction with Hamilton Telecommunications, under
contract with the State of Wisconsin. There
is no charge to access this service. Telecommunications Relay is available by dialing (800)
WI-RELAY (947-3529) from a TTY and (800) 947-6644 from a voice telephone, or
7-1-1 from either a TTY or standard voice telephone.