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Relay

To refer others to this page, please use:
http://www.nad.org/relay

Imagine asking your neighbors to call the doctor for you—or to even call pizza!  Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, statewide TTY relay services became mandatory. The NAD played an important role in negotiating with disability advocacy groups for this provision, during the drafting of the ADA.

The NAD fought for multi-vendoring—the right to choose relay service providers. The NAD was opposed by others who believed that multi-vendoring was unrealistic and not feasible.

Deaf and hard of hearing individuals now have the right to choose from numerous relay service providers in different format, whether it is traditional TTY relay, Internet Protocol (IP) relay, or Video Relay Services (VRS). Today traditional TTY relay is now being overtaken by greater reliance on IP relay services and video relay services (VRS).

The NAD continues to work hard to ensure full telecommunication access – what we are now seeing is that VRS is affording deaf people with near-functional equivalency. Relay access has also provided unprecedented employment choices and advancement opportunities. Numerous issues still surround relay services including quality, funding, technology development and research, and universal access.

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Take Action
• Ask the FCC to Make Videophones Equal to Telephones!

Advocacy
• Video Relay
• Open Relay (Blocking and Interoperability)
• Captioned Telephone
• Videophone Numbering System

News
• NAD Urges Comments on Captioned Telephone Rules
• Disability Groups Call for Telecom Legislation
• NAD Settles Relay Complaint Against Online Retailer
• NAD and Law Firm Of Outten and Golden File Class Action Lawsuit Against Morgan Stanley
• NAD Proclaims Success, Applauds FCC Action
• NAD Co-Hosts Congressional Demonstration on Broadband
• NAD Files FCC Comments on Compatibility and Interoperability of Relay Products and Service
• Want Full Access to Relay? Let FCC Know!
• NAD Files Complaint against Online Retailer that Refused a Relay Call
• NAD Files Comments with FCC on Video Relay Services