For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 202/628-6380 202/393-5453 (fax)	Contact: John Bernhards Director of Public Relations Phone: 202/434-8850 E-mail: jbernhards@atis.org

ATIS-sponsored Text Telephony (TTY) Forum Recommends Universal Symbol for Wireless Telephone Handsets for the Deaf and Hard-of Hearing

April 23, 2002, Washington, D.C. -The Text Telephony (TTY) Forum - sponsored by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) - announced today its recommendation of a consistent symbol for utilization by wireless carriers and handset manufacturers to indicate a mobile handset will work with a TTY device, which is designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.

Specifically, the TTY Forum recommended the internationally recognized TTY symbol (shown at left) or some modification of it, as the symbol to be used. In addition, the Terminal Product Identification Committee (TPIC), a working group of the TTY Forum, recommended that the use of the symbol be supported by documentation on a Web site, in the user's manual, in a technical manual and/or in promotional materials provided by the wireless carriers and handset manufacturers.

Consumer representatives to the TTY Forum recommended to wireless carriers and manufacturers several suggestions regarding the placement of the TTY symbol. These include: placement directly on the handset; on the handset display screen; on the telephone handset box and packaging; and in the handset user's manual. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that carriers operating digital wireless systems to have obtained all software upgrades and equipment necessary to make their systems capable of transmitting 911 calls from TTY devices by June 30, 2002.

A TTY is a special device which allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired to use telephone networks to communicate, by allowing them to type messages to one another instead of talking and listening. A TTY device is required to both send and receive TTY communications.

The ATIS-sponsored TTY Forum develops alternatives that provide the deaf and hard-of-hearing, as well as those with speech or language disabilities, with access to digital wireless communications, through the use of a TTY device.

About ATIS

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a member company organization that is the leader for standards and operating procedures for the telecommunications industry. More than 1,500 experts from over 400 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS' 20 committees, forums, and Incubator Solutions programs, where work focus includes wireline and wireless network interconnection standards, number portability, improved data transmission, Internet telephony, toll-free access, telecom fraud, and order and billing issues, among others. ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit the ATIS web site at www.atis.org.

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