Relay Utah, the Utah Public Service Commission program that provides telecommunications equipment and relay services for hard-of-hearing and deaf Utahns, had a nearly 20 percent increase in the statewide distribution of amplified, captioning and text telephones during 2006.
Relay Utah also had 111 deliveries scheduled at the start of 2007.
The equipment that Relay Utah distributes includes amplified phones, amplified cordless phones, captioning phones and text telephones.
The 7-1-1 relay translation service facilitated thousands of calls between deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing individuals in 2006.
Relay Utah was established in 1988. The state has more than 220,000 residents who have difficulty with hearing and/or speaking over the telephone. Relay Utah is subsidized through a 10-cent telephone surcharge.