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

FCC to ATIS' TTY Forum: Compliant Wireless Carriers May Cease Filing Quarterly TTY Reports

October 10, 2002, Washington, D.C. - During ATIS' TTY (Text Telephony) Forum meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stated that wireless carriers may cease filing quarterly status reports with the FCC if full implementation of TTY functionality over digital wireless networks has been met.

Wireless carriers and handset manufacturers that proclaim themselves to be in compliance with the FCC's reporting requirements will submit a final report to ATIS, and will be listed on record with ATIS and the FCC as being TTY compliant. Wireless carriers that have not implemented full TTY capability over their networks must continue to file quarterly reports.

Leading wireless carriers participating in ATIS' TTY Forum met the FCC's June 30, 2002, deadline for deploying TTY capability over digital wireless networks. Through a collaborative effort that began in 1997, ATIS' TTY Forum was successful in helping create and test standards that enable people with speech or hearing disabilities to communicate over wireless networks. The TTY Forum also supported the TTY Technical Standards Implementation (TTSI) Incubator which established TTY testing parameters and coordinated testing events in order to find, isolate and resolve TTY issues.

While TTY operation works well over digital wireless networks for non-emergency communication, a TTY caller is not 100 percent assured that an emergency call to 9-1-1 will successfully reach a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) due to non-standardized TTY equipment or software. ATIS' TTY Forum remains committed to public safety and is working with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA) to resolve the remaining technical and operational issues present at PSAPs.

ATIS' TTY Forum is comprised of various stakeholders including wireless carriers, wireless handset manufacturers, wireless infrastructure manufacturers, manufacturers of Text Telephones (TTYs), emergency and relay service providers (9-1-1 and TRS), and consumer organizations representing people with hearing disabilities.

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 communications industry. More than 400 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS' 17 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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