Avaya Communication Manager Administrator's Manual page 266

Handling Incoming Calls
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 might 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 telephone
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
instead of speaking into your telephone 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
Note:
process TTY calls. With vectors, you can allow TTY callers and voice callers to
use the same telephone number. In this case, you can also record a single
announcement that contains both TTY signaling and a voice recording.
266 Administrator Guide for Avaya Communication Manager
Managing Announcements on page 493). However,