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 Personal Computers, 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 Managing Announcements). However, instead of speaking into your telephone to record, you type the announcement with the TTY device.