Voice Carry-Over (VCO) allows a caller with hearing loss to speak directly to a hearing person. When the hearing person speaks to a VCO caller the Communications Assistant serves as the VCO caller’s “ears” and types everything said to the VCO caller’s TTY or VCO phone. If an elderly person with progressive hearing loss has difficulty hearing over the phone, VCO is the perfect communication solution for them.
How Does VCO Relay Work?
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The mother who has a hearing loss speaks to her son directly.
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The son speaks to his mother, and the Communications Assistant types everything the son says, word for word, to the mother.
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The mother reads on a TTY screen what her son speaks.
Video: Voice Carry-Over
Other VCO Features
The Communications Assistant specializes in all types of VCO calls, such as VCO to TTY, VCO to VCO, or Two-Line VCO. With this service, you do not have to specify your call type to the CA.
VCO to TTY
The Communications Assistant types what the VCO user says to the TTY user. Whatever the TTY user types goes directly to the VCO user’s TTY or text display equipment to be read.
VCO to VCO
The Communications Assistant serves as both parties’ “ears”, typing what is said on both ends of the call.
Two-Line VCO
Two-line VCO allows a person with two telephone lines to use one line for speaking directly to a hearing person while the other line is used to receive the hearing person’s typed responses at the same time. This feature provides a more natural flow of conversation without the pauses of single-line calls.
Alaska Relay Customer Profile
The Alaska Relay Customer Profile allows consumers to list their preferences for calls, such as:
- Frequently dialed numbers
- Emergency numbers
- Preferred gender of operator
- Announcing relay service
As a consumer, you have flexibility in updating your preferences at any time. Click here to learn how to set up your user account.