California Awards Captioning Contract to Hamilton Relay

The state of California has renewed its contract with Hamilton Relay, a provider of telecommunications relay and captioned telephone service, to offer the California Relay Service. Hamilton Relay received its first award in 2010 to provide telecommunications relay and captioned telephone service in the state.

California Relay Service, a program of the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program of the California Public Utilities Commission, provides 24-hour service that enables individuals who are deaf or have difficulty speaking to communicate over the telephone. When a traditional relay call is placed through California Relay Service, a communications assistant relays the conversation by speaking or typing what's said. When using captioned telephone, a screen on the phone displays word-for-word captions generated by a captioning assistant through speech recognition software.

"We are thrilled for the opportunity to continue providing relay services for the State of California," said Dixie Ziegler, vice president of Hamilton Relay, in a statement. Hamilton is committed to providing these life-changing services along with bringing outstanding education programs and customer care to individuals across California."

Anyone can initiate a call through California Relay Service by dialing 711 or the existing toll-free access number for specific relay services. There is no cost to use California Relay Service.

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