Lonsdale Telephone & Lonsdale Video Ventures

D&I Accessibility

Disability and Impairment Accessibility

HAVE TROUBLE USING THE TELEPHONE?
Minnesota Relay provides free and full telephone accessibility to anyone who is hard of hearing, deaf, deaf/blind or speech disabled.  Now it is easier than ever to make a Minnesota Relay call.
  • JUST DIAL 711 TO MAKE A CALL A Communication Assistant (CA) relays the phone conversation between a person who has hearing loss or a speech disability and a hearing person.
  • TEXT TELEPHONE (TTY):  1-800-627-3529
  • HEARING CARRY OVER (HCO):  1-800-627-3529
  • COMPUTER (ASCII):  1-800-627-3529
  • MINNESOTA RELAY GENERAL:  1-800-627-3529
  • SPANISH RELAY:  1-877-627-5448
  • VOICE CARRY OVER DIRECT (VCO): 1-877-627-3024
  • SPEECH-TO-SPEECH (STS):  1-877-627-3848
  • 2-LINE VOICE CARRY OVER:  1-866-855-4611
  • 900 PAY CALLS:  1-900-230-3324
  • CAPTIONED TELEPHONE SERVICE (CapTel): If you wish to contact a person who uses a CapTel phone, dial: 1-877-243-2823.  For detailed instructions:www.mnrelay.org or 1-800-657-3775.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

  • Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
  • You can call next door or internationally.
  • All calls are 100% confidential.
  • There is no charge for using Minnesota Relay unless you call long distance.

BILLING OPTIONS FOR LONG DISTANCE CALLS:

  • Direct
  • Pre-paid calling card
  • Third party billing
  • Collect
  • Carrier calling card

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: 

  • Call 911 direct.  All 911 centers are equipped to handle TTY calls.  Minnesota Relay can process emergency calls, but this may delay the response to your call.

FILING A COMPLAINT: 

  • If you would like to file a complaint regarding Minnesota Relay, please call 1-800-657-3775.  You will need to provide the date and time of the relay call, the CA’s identification number, and the nature of your complaint.  To file a relay complaint with the Federal Communications Commission  call toll-free at 1-888-225-5322 (voice)/1-888-835-5322 (TTY), or file on line atesupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

SERVICES AVAILABLE:

  • TEXT TELEPHONE (TTY):  Allows a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled to use a TTY to communicate with the other person on the call.
  • HEARING CARRY OVER (HCO):  Allows a person who can hear but who has very limited or no speech capability to make and receive phone calls.  The HCO user types his/her conversation for the CA to read to the other person, and listens directly to the other person’s response.  Requires a special telephone.
  • COMPUTER (ASCII):  Computer users can also access Minnesota Relay.  Set you communications software to the following protocols: speeds ranging from 300 to 2400; 8 Bits; No Parity; 1 Stop Bit; Full Duplex.  When calling at a rate of 300 or below, follow the above using Half Duplex.
  • STANDARD TELEPHONE:  A hearing person may use a standard telephone to place a relay call and easily converse with a person who is deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled.
  • SPANISH RELAY:  The CA relays calls between a Spanish speaking person with a hearing or speech disability and a Spanish speaking hearing person.
  • VOICE CARRY OVER (VCO):  Allows a person who has difficulty hearing on the phone to voice their conversations directly to the other person on the call.  The  CA then types the other person’s response to the VCO user.   Requires a special phone.
  • SPEECH-TO-SPEECH (STS):  Allows a person who has had difficulty speaking or being understood on the phone to communicate using his or her own voice or voice synthesizer.  The CA revoices the words of the person with a speech disability so the other person on the call can understand them.  No special telephone is required.
  • 2 LINE VOICE CARRY OVER (VCO):  Allows a VCO user to use one telephone line for speaking directly to the other person, while the second line is used to receive the CA’s typed response from the other person.  This enhanced feature provides a more natural flow of conversation without the pauses of single-line VCO calls.  Additional service and equipment requirements.
  • 900 PAY-PER-CALL SERVICES:  Allows a relay user to connect to any pay-per-call service.
  • CAPTIONED TELEPHONE SERVICE (CAPTEL):  CapTel is an amplified telephone and relay captioning service that allows people who are hard of hearing to see word-for-word captions of their telephone conversation on a bright easy-to-read display window built into the Cap Tel phone, while also listening to what is being said using their residual hearing (much like TV captioning)  Requires a CapTel phone.  If you wish to contact a person who uses a CapTel phone, dial: 1-877-243-2823.

TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTION (TED) PROGRAM


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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules requiring telecommunications service providers like Lonsdale Telephone Company to make its services and products accessible to people with disabilities if such access is readily achievable. These rules implement Section 255 and Section 716 of the Federal Communications Act and requires tele-communications service providers to make their services and devices      compatible with peripheral devices and specialized customer premises equipment that are commonly used by people with disabilities, if such    compatibility is readily achievable. Please contact us at (507) 744-2311 or email to: support@lonsdaletel.com for further information or to       discuss your accessibility needs and the options we may have to assist you in using our services.

LONSDALE TELEPHONE COMPANY DEPLOYS A GENBAND C-15 SOFTSWITCH WHICH CAN BE CONFIGURED TO ALLOW THE FOLLOWING CAPABILITIES TO ENHANCE THE USABILITY OF TELEPHONE SERVICE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

  • The C15 is compatible with TTY Relay Service
  • The C15 is compatible with FAX terminals that transmit to either TDM  or VoIP destinations
  • The C15 is equipped with the APMAX application server, which provides an optional voicemail service for C15 users which can be equipped with a  speech to text service
  • The C15 and APMAX can provide a user web portal to control telephone and voicemail service                                                        


This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.