Relay Service is a communication service that connects individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or have difficulty speaking that may use specialized telephone equipment to people who use standard telephones.
Your phone would ring, and when you answered it you would hear, "Relay operator 1234 have you ever received a relay call before?" The most important thing to do at this point is to not hang up, because there is a person waiting to talk to you. If you tell the operator that you have never had a relay call before the operator will quickly explain how it works and connect you with the relay user.
For 7-1-1 Relay services, in most states the Public Service Commission or Public Utility Commission administers Relay. Relay providers are selected through a bidding process. Once a provider is selected, they enter a contract agreement that is valid for a specified amount of time and must meet the regulations of the state requirements in the contract, as well as the FCC TRS regulations.
Captioned Telephone services are administered by the Federal Communications Commission.
Hamilton provides 7-1-1 services in a number of states and US Territories. To find out if Hamilton provides 7-1-1 relay services in your state, please visit this page: http://www.hamiltonrelay.com/state_711_relay/index.html
Hamilton Relay offers a variety of relay services available with 7-1-1 to match the different needs and preferences of our customers. Customers can choose from the following call types:
In most states the Public Service Commission or Public Utility Commission administers Relay. Relay providers are selected through a bidding process. Once a provider is selected, they enter a contract agreement that is valid for a specified amount of time and must meet the regulations of the state requirements in the contract, as well as the FCC TRS regulations.
Captioned Telephone (or CapTel®) is a telephone technology that allows people to receive word-for-word captions of their telephone conversations. It is similar in concept to Captioned Television, where spoken words appear as written text for viewers to read. The CapTel phone looks and works like any traditional phone, with callers talking and listening to each other, but with one very significant difference: Captions are provided live for every phone call. The captions are displayed on the phone's built-in screen so the user can read the words while listening to the voice of the other party. So if the CapTel phone user has difficulty hearing what the caller says, he or she can easily read the captions for clarification.
The CapTel user dials the number of the person they wish to call on the CapTel phone. By clicking on the Captions Button to activate captions, the call is transparently connected to a captioning service that provides the captioning. At the CapTel service center, a specially trained operator uses the latest in voice-recognition technology to transcribe whatever is being said by the other party. The voice recognition system generates the operator's voice into captions, which are bundled with the speaking party's actual voice and sent directly to the CapTel phone. When the CapTel phone receives this combined information, the voice and captions are split so that the voice goes to the earpiece of the phone and the captions go to the display screen.
PLEASE NOTE:
The CapTel Captioned Telephone is designed for people who have difficulty hearing over the phone. People who do not require captioning support for their telephone calls should only use the CapTel phone with the CAPTIONS featured turned off. The CapTel phone is intended to facilitate telephone communication between two or more parties on a telephone call. Any other use of the phone is considered a violation or misuse of the service.
As of May 15, 2013 Hamilton is discontinuing its Internet Relay services. For individuals who want to use Internet Relay services, a list of providers can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/trs-providers.
You may port your number to another Internet Relay service provider. We will keep your HomeTown number until May 30th. If the number is not ported to another provider on or prior to May 30th, the number will no longer be in service.
When you port your number to your new provider, your speed dial list and other settings will not be transferred. You will want to document your speed dial list and other settings in your Hamilton account prior to May 15th.