Avaya Communication Manager Administrator's Manual page 197

Setting up hunt groups for TTY callers
Several laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 255 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, require that "reasonable accommodation" be provided for people with
disabilities. For this reason, your company may choose to offer support for callers who use TTYs.
(These devices are also known as TDDs -- "Telecommunication Device for the Deaf" -- but the term TTY
is generally preferred, in part because many users of these devices are hearing-impaired, but not deaf.)
TTY callers can be accommodated by creating a hunt group that includes TTY-equipped agents. The
TTY itself looks a little like a laptop computer, except that it has a one- or two-line alphanumeric display
instead of a computer screen. The cost of a typical TTY is approximately three hundred dollars. Although
many TTYs can connect directly with the telephone network via analog RJ-11 jacks, Avaya recommends
that agents be equipped with TTYs that include an acoustic coupler that can accommodate a standard
telephone handset. One reason for this recommendation is that a large proportion of TTY users are
hearing impaired, but still speak clearly. These individuals often prefer to receive calls on their TTYs and
then speak in response. This requires the call center agent to alternate between listening on the phone and
then typing on the TTY, a process made considerably easier with an acoustically coupled configuration.
Although TTY-emulation software packages are available for PCs, most of these do not have the ability
to intermix voice and TTY on the same call.
For a TTY hunt group, you can record TTY announcements and use them for the hunt group queue. To
record announcements for TTY, simply follow the same steps as with voice recordings from your
telephone (see Chapter 13, Managing Announcements). However, instead of speaking into your phone to
record, you type the announcement with the TTY device.
NOTE:
For an alternative to simply creating a TTY hunt group, you can use vectors to process
TTY calls. With vectors, you can allow TTY callers and voice callers to use the same
phone number. In this case, you can also record a single announcement that contains both
TTY signaling and a voice recording. See ''Handling TTY calls with vectors''.
Adding hunt group announcements
You can add recorded announcements to a hunt group queue. Use announcements to encourage callers to
stay on the line or to provide callers with information. You can define how long a call remains in the
queue before the caller hears an announcement.
See Recording Announcements
Let us add an announcement to our internal helpline. We want the caller to hear an announcement after 20
seconds in the queue, or after approximately 4 or 5 rings. Our announcement is already recorded and
assigned to extension 1234.
Tip:
You can use
announcements.
Administrator's Guide for Avaya Communication Manager
November 2003
on page 376 for information on how to record an announcement.
to find the extensions of your recorded
display announcements
Handling Incoming Calls
Managing Hunt Groups
197