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January 9, 2007

Hamilton to Become the State of Arizona’s new TRS Provider

From: Hamilton Relay - Jan 9, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Beth Slough, 402-694-3656 v/TTY
TRS Contract Manager/Senior Editor
Hamilton Relay

Hamilton to Become the State of Arizona’s new TRS Provider

Aurora, Nebraska– January 9, 2007. As the result of a competitive bidding process, Hamilton Telephone Company d/b/a Hamilton Telecommunications will begin operating the Arizona Telecommunications Relay Service on January 31, 2007.
Arizona Relay is free service that allows people who are Hearing, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind or Speech Impaired to communicate with each other via the telephone. Through the use of specialized equipment, relay users communicate freely with friends, family and businesses who use a standard telephone.

Arizona Relay also offers a free service called CapTelTM, which provides captions for the telephone similar to the closed captioning provided on most television programs. The CapTel telephone is designed to assist people who have some degree of hearing loss to talk on the telephone without missing pieces of the conversation. This latest advancement in the telecommunications technology for people with hearing loss was developed by Ultratec, Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin.

A CapTel phone looks and works like any traditional telephone and, through the use of voice recognition software, provides word-for-word captions that can be read on the phone’s built-in display screen. This allows the user to listen to the voice of the party on the other end of the line and simultaneously read captions of what they say. It’s fast and simple to use. For the home or office, CapTel requires a standard analog telephone line, commonly found in most households.

"Hamilton is extremely pleased to have this opportunity to provide service to the relay users in Arizona," says Dixie Ziegler, Vice President of Hamilton Relay. "Ensuring effective telephone communication between people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled and standard phone users is of paramount importance to Hamilton. We will work closely with the current provider to ensure a seamless transition with no disruption in service. Hamilton is very active within the communities that we serve and we look forward to initiating a variety of outreach activities in Arizona."

Anyone can access Arizona Relay by dialing 711 or one of the toll-free numbers below:

* TTY: 800-367-8939
* ASCII: 888-842-3372
* VCO: 800-842-9818
* Voice: 800-842-4681
* Spanish: 800-842-2088
* Speech to Speech: 800-842-6520

Individuals and organizations who would like more information, can contact Hamilton Relay at 1-800-618-4781 (V/TTY) or via e-mail to info@hamiltonrelay.com.

About Hamilton Relay
Hamilton Relay offers a variety of services including Internet Relay, Video Relay, Wireless Relay and CapTel. All services are available at www.hamiltonrelay.com. With the addition of Arizona and West Virginia on January 31, 2007, Hamilton Relay will provide traditional relay services to 13 states, the District of Columbia, the Island of Saipan and the Virgin Islands.

CapTel is a trademark and service mark of Ultratec, Inc.