Wisconsin Relay Service

Wisconsin Relay is a no-cost service that enables people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind or those with a Speech Disability to place and receive phone calls. Relay calls can be made to anyone, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Relay operators are specially trained to facilitate the calls. All calls are completely confidential. Long distance charges may apply. -Voice Carry Over (VCO) VCO allows Deaf or Hard of Hearing users to speak directly to a hearing person. When the hearing person speaks to them, the Relay Operator will serve as the "ears" and type everything voiced by the hearing person so the VCO user can read it on a TTY or text display. -Hearing Carry Over (HCO) HCO allows Speech Disabilities users listen to the person they are calling. The HCO user types his/her conversation on TTY for the Relay Operator to read to the standard telephone user. -Speech to Speech (STS) Speech Disability individual may make STS calls, where a specially trained Relay Operator listens in to a call and serve as the Speech Disability user's voice and repeat his/her responses to the called party if needed. There may be instances where an STS user will be asked to repeat his/her message to ensure that it is conveyed correctly. The STS user hears the called party's voice. -T-Mobile IP T-Mobile IP Relay makes it easy to make and receive phone calls—using text by using a browser on your computer or tablet, or launch the app on your phone. Type in the number you want to dial, and communicate over text. - CapTel Ideal for people with some degree of hearing loss, the Captioned Telephone (CapTel) works like any other telephone with one important addition: it displays every word the other party says throughout the conversation. CapTel phone users can listen to the caller, and can also read the written captions in the CapTel's bright display window. Wisconsin residents may be eligible to receive a free CapTel phone through the state's Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Program (TEPP). The purpose of TEPP is to help people with disabilities buy specialized equipment they need in order to use basic telephone services. The TEPP is one of several different programs paid for by the Wisconsin Universal Service Fund (USF) established by the Public Service Commission. Money collected from Wisconsin telephone service providers goes into the USF. You may go to the TEPP website for more information https://psc.wi.gov/pages/programs/tepp.aspx - Customer Support 711 (TTY) 888-269-7477 (CapTel) 866-670-9134 (CapTel - Espanol) SD, Hearing Resources