Phoenix Leads Way Using New Shortcut TDD/TTY Number - "7-1-1"
Feb. 13, 2002
There's a new way to contact hearing- and speech-impaired citizens that use text telephones and the city of Phoenix took the initiative by implementing the system in January. Dialing "7-1-1" is the shortcut.
"Even though the city is not mandated to offer this shortcut service, we feel it is an important service to our customers," said Carole Coles Henry, acting director, city of Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department. "We're hoping other employers will follow our lead and add this service to their company's phone system if they currently do not have it in place."
By dialing 7-1-1, callers reach an operator at the Arizona Relay Service (AzRS), who then facilitates the phone call to and from the hearing- or speech-impaired individual who uses a text telephone (TDD/TTY) to complete the process.
"By eliminating the need to remember various access numbers to AzRS, we hope callers will be less hesitant to use the relay system," said Coles Henry. "Previously, callers had to dial a separate phone number dependent upon the kind of relay user they were trying to call, such as a speech-to-speech, voice, TTY or Spanish-speaking relay user."
Coles Henry also stressed that 7-1-1 is not an emergency number and users should not confuse it with 9-1-1. The system was set up by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has been implemented locally by Sprint.
For more information about the 7-1-1 program, contact Edward Kinal at the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 602-542-3365/voice, 602-364-0128/TTY or e-mail edward.kinal@acdhh.state.az.us
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