Testing TTY?

[Bret]

Hello,

I am curious if any of you could point me toward any resources that allow for TTY testing of an automated phone system. I am work at a company that assists organizations and institutions run private voting events online and by telephone, and we try to make things as accessible as possible in our design always (one of our longtime customers is a registry of interpreters for the deaf)

Voting by telephone is via an automated navigation type menu (IVR) from a toll free call, and our service provider for this indicated they aren't sure how well TTY would work with such a system, and we'd like to test it to see how accessible and functional it is.

Unfortunately, we have no deaf staff. We have a test phone demo all setup -- and we are just looking for resources on how to test it and get some feedback.

Any information would be appreciated. We are happy to pay for any service or tool, we're just unsure at this moment how to go about attempting this accessibility testing.

My apologies if this in the wrong place too. Thanks.

 

[gtanner]

Bret,
Phone systems speak DTMF, while TTY Devices (phones, cradles, software, keyboards, etc.) speak BAUDOT. This presents a language barrier between the device the Deaf and hard of hearing will use to call your organization and the phones you would like to use to receive their incoming calls.

NexTalk offers a TTY Call-management solution called SimpliciTTY. This software solution allows incoming TTY calls to be received, qualified (screens out voice callers) and routed to office or call center staff based on skill sets. Additionally, SimpliciTTY has IVR functionality, which would play a BAUDOT script back to the deaf caller allowing them to place a vote via their TTY device. I can also do a test call for you with your existing set-up.

Call me if you want to learn more. Gary Tanner. 801-545-4411