Telecommunications Relay Service

 
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) is a free service that connects customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities with others, using either standard telephone equipment or telephone equipment that has been designed for individuals with disabilities.

Making a call is simple: dial “711” or the toll-free TRS number listed in your telephone directory. A trained communications assistant will answer your call and relay the telephone conversation between you and the party you are calling. All call information and conversations are confidential. Relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Long-distance calls placed for you can be billed collect, or to a pre-paid calling card, carrier calling card or third party.

There are several types of TRS calls.

• Captioned Telephone: This service requires a specially designed telephone that allows a person with hearing loss to receive word-for-word captions of the conversation while simultaneously listening to the voice of the other party.
• Hearing-Carry-Over: HCO allows hearing individuals with very limited or no speech capability to type his or her conversation for the communications assistant to read aloud to the hearing person. The HCO user hears the other party’s response.
• Spanish Relay: This service is tailored for use by Spanish-speaking hearing- or speech-disabled users.
• Speech-to-Speech: STS helps users with speech difficulties converse with one another, with a specially trained communications assistant acting as the intermediary.
• Text Telephone: Also called Teletypewriter, TTY is a specially designed typewriter-like device that allows users to carry on telephone conversations in the form of text conversations with the communications assistant.
• Voice-Carry-Over: VCO enables people who have difficulty hearing on the phone to voice their conversations directly to the hearing person. The communications assistant types the hearing person’s response to the VCO user. VCO requires a specially designed telephone.
• Video Relay Service: VRS is an alternative to traditional TTY relay service. This service provides American Sign Language users with an opportunity to communicate via videoconferencing using their native language. Please visit the Sprint VRS Web site for details regarding equipment requirements, access and use of VRS.

EMERGENCY  Dialing from a TTY:     9-1-1

TTY callers should directly dial 9-1-1 or other emergency numbers in emergency situations. All 9-1-1 centers are now equipped to handle TTY calls. After the 9-1-1 dispatcher answers the call, pressing the space bar may help you inform the dispatcher that this is a TTY call. Please dial 9-1-1 directly, as using Colorado Relay Service for 911 could delay getting your emergency message through.

Telephone Numbers for Colorado Relay Service:

Voice:…………………………………………………………………………...1 800 659-3656

TTY:………………………………………………………………………………1 800 659-2656

Spanish:………………………………………………………………………..1 800 337-3242

ASCII:…………………………………………………………………………..1 800 659-4656

VCO:……………………………………………………………………………. 1 800 659-2656

Speech-toSpeech:……………………………………………………….....1 800 659-4279