I know this has nothing to do with ham radio, but it is of
interest to the disabled community.
cut here

OCTOBER 1 BEGINS NEW ERA OF TELEPHONE ACCESS
711 Will Permit Easy Nationwide Access to Relay Services

On October 1 of this year our country begins a new era of telephone access.
That is the day that the
familiar calling shortcuts of 911 and 411 will be joined by 711 - the new
three digit number for
access to all Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS).

It's fast, functional and free.

TRS facilitates telephone conversations between people who do and those who
do not have hearing or
speech disabilities. In one type of TRS, a text telephone (TTY) user calls a
voice telephone user
through a TRS provider (or relay center), where a communications assistant
places the call to the
voice user, and then relays the conversation by transcribing spoken content
for the TTY user and
reading text aloud for the voice user.

711 is good news for everyone, not just persons with disabilities. Both
voice and TRS users will be
able to initiate a call from any telephone, anywhere in the United States,
without having to
remember and dial a seven or ten-digit access number. There are currently
over 100 separate numbers
nationwide for accessing relay services. Being able to dial the same three
digits nationwide to
access TRS, instead of having to be familiar with each state's unique access
number, makes TRS much
more accessible in our mobile society.

Under the new rules adopted last year by the FCC, 711 TRS dialing must be
provided by all
telecommunications carriers in the United States, including wireline,
wireless, and payphone
providers. The FCC rule also encourages all PBX suppliers to configure their
systems for 711 access
to TRS.

In addition, to ensure the efficient, effective, and successful use of 711
access to TRS, the FCC
required carriers and relay providers, in cooperation with the states, to
engage in on-going and
comprehensive education and outreach programs to publicize the availability
of 711 access.

If consumers find that they are unable to get 711 TRS access after October
1, they should contact
the FCC's Consumer Center at 1-888-CALL-FCC (voice) or 1-888-TELL-FCC (TTY),
or by e-mail at
[log in to unmask]

For more information on TRS visit:
<http://www.fcc.gov/cib/consumerfacts/trs.html

To obtain this document online visit:
<http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/2001/nrcc0138.html

Harvey Heagy (N.5.H.A.U.