Customer Service

TRS – 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.

For TRS providers in your area, please refer to the Telecommunication Relay Service Directory 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.