Pacific Bell, now AT&T, offers the widest support for the hearing impaired available. Several types of relay services are available, TTY relay, Internet relay and video relay.

TTY relay allows you to use a standard teletypewriter and type messages which are then read aloud by a live person to the hearing person on the other end. A communications assistant types the message as relayed by the hearing person on the other end, which is then received by a screen on the teletypewriter. This is the most common method used by the hearing impaired today.

Internet relay is a simpler form of text communication and allows the hearing impaired to simply type and receive text messages over a web portal.

Video relay is a new method of communication for the deaf, and works well for those who would rather sign than type. Video relay calls are free, and use a standard web cam connected to a PC. A video interpreter translates the speech received into sign language and is viewable on your PC screen.

Full instructions for all methods are available on the SBC/AT&T website.

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