Sprint is recognized as the industry leader when it comes to catering to the needs of the deaf community. It is not surprising that they have again committed to sponsor the DeafNation Expo this year.

DeafNation is a tradeshow for, by, and about deaf people.

“These exhibitions serve as an outlet for national and local vendors and businesses, marketing a wide range of products and services: telephony and communication products, educational materials, books, videotapes, on-line services, travel services, crafts, and more. Organizations such as government agencies and local attractions will also join us to showcase themselves to potential new customers and spread awareness.”

Most phone companies offer TTY/TDD for their deaf customers, but Sprint went out of their way to find even more user-friendly communications solutions for its deaf customers.

What is TTY/TDD and how does TTY/TDD work?
The TTY/TDD lets you type your conversation to a Sprint Relay operator, who then reads aloud the typed conversation to a person at the other end of the line. The operator then types that person’s response words for you. Both parties either see or hear every word uttered in the conversation.

Sprint offers six different methods of relay services:

1. Captel, a basic version of TTY which allows you to simultaneously listen to the conversation and read captions on the screen of the telephone. This service is great for people who are hard of hearing, and may miss a few words of a conversation. Captel phones work just like regular voice phones, so the whole family can use them.
2. Sprint Relay Online allows customers to see TDD calls over the Internet. This is handy because TDD devices can be bulky.
3. Sprint Relay Conference Captioning allows the user to join a conference call, and see conversation by multiple parties.
4. Sprint Relay has been around for years. This is the basic relay service, which allows users to converse through a relay operator. The relay operator transcribes voice to text, and speaks your text to the person you’re talking to.
5. Sprint Relay Wireless is the same as Sprint Relay, only it shows up on your mobile.
6. Sprint Relay Video Service allows you to use sign language, instead of typing to complete your conversation. You sign to the operator, and the operator relays your end of the conversation, and then signs the other party’s response back to you.

Look for demonstrations of these services at the 2006 DeafNation Expo.