Some hearing-impaired people use an amplified volume control telephone to make their phone calls.

However, most Deaf people do not use voice telephones at all to make phone calls. Instead, Deaf people use a combination of Deaf-specific and more generally available phone options:

• TTY (also known as a telephone typewriter or textphone) lets Deaf people phone other people who have a TTY and (via the National Relay Service) phone people who don’t have a TTY
• Internet relay via the National Relay Service lets Deaf people phone both people who have a TTY and people who don’t have a TTY
• TTY imitation software lets Deaf people phone other people who have a TTY and (via the National Relay Service) phone people who don’t have a TTY

Other types of telecommunication:

• Internet-based real-time text -chat-time such as MSN or AOL [link to info below]
• SMS (text messaging) [link to info below]
• Webcams [link to info below] or other video devices to communicate in sign language with other sign language users
• Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) which uses an interpreter to aid communication between people who do not know sign language and a Deaf Auslan (Australian Sign Language) user

What is a TTY?
A TTY is a special telephone that lets people who are Deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment communicate using the telephone line.  The TTY has a small screen and a keyboard. When calling someone else with a TTY, the Deaf person types what they want to say, and then reads what the other person types back. A small number of Deaf people use TTY imitation software instead of an actual TTY. The software allows a computer with a modem to function like a TTY.

Deaf people also use their TTY (or TTY imitation software) to call anyone who has a regular phone, by using the National Relay Service. The National Relay Service is also used by hearing people, including businesses, to contact Deaf people.

How do Deaf people get a TTY?
In most cases, Deaf people are eligible to rent TTYs from their phone company, for the same cost as a regular phone.

Some TTY models can also be used as ordinary phones (for example, if a household contains both Deaf and hearing people.)

You may be eligible to receive a subsidy for your telecommunication equipment. The equipment available includes volume control telephone, TTY, visual alarms to alert you that the phone is ringing and a computer modem that allows you to also send and receive text messages over the telephone network. To receive subsidised equipment, customers must meet the eligibility criteria and complete an application form which is available from your telecommunications carrier

To find out more, contact:

• Telstra: 1800 068 424 or click here to download a form from Telstra
• AAPT: click here to download a form from AAPT
• For other phone companies, contact the general customer service number

Businesses with Deaf employees may also be eligible to rent a TTY.

Anyone can also buy a TTY – Printacall Communications Technology also sells and offers a repair service for TTYs.

Telstra provides a number of TTY public pay phones throughout NSW. For a listing of these phones, click here.

The National Relay Service (NRS)
The National Relay Service is a phone solution for people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired, and for anyone who needs to contact someone who is Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired. Deaf people use the NRS to contact hearing people; and hearing people use the NRS to contact Deaf people.

All calls through the NRS are relayed through a "relay officer", who relays exactly what is said by both parties (TTY or internet to voice, and voice to TTY or internet). Relay officers are there to help a call go smoothly, but they don’t change or interfere with what is being said.

The NRS is an Australian Government Initiative, and relays calls at no extra cost to either the person making the call or the person receiving the call. The NRS is available 24 hours a day and calls are confidential.

For more information about the NRS, TTY Relay Calls, Internet Relay Calls and other NRS services, click here.

What is SMS or text messaging?
SMS means Short Message Service and is also known as text messaging. SMS is a mobile phone function. In the message function of your mobile phone, you can write and read messages of between 120 and 240 characters, depending on the phone you're using.

SMS has become very popular with both Deaf and hearing mobile phone users. Because of the ease and equality of access, many Deaf people use SMS as a primary or sole telephone service. However, SMS does have some disadvantages.

Disadvantages of SMS

• It is not a real-time form of communication
• It is not always reliable - sometimes the messages get ‘lost’ or take a long time to arrive at the other person’s mobile phone
• Most businesses and government departments cannot be contacted via SMS
• At the time of writing this webpage, SMS cannot be used to contact emergency services