Section 756.10  Definitions

"7-1-1" means the abbreviated dialing code for accessing all types of relay services anywhere in the United States.

"Act" means the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

"Advisory Council" means the advisory council established by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 755.405.

"American Sign Language" or "ASL" means a visual language based on hand shape, position, movement, and orientation of the hands in relation to each other and the body.

"ASCII" is an acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interexchange that employs an eight bit code and can operate at any standard transmission baud rate including 300, 1200, 2400 and higher.

            "Baudot" means a seven bit code, only five of which are information bits. Baudot is used by some text telephones to communicate with each other at a 45.5 baud rate.

            "Call release" means a Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) feature that allows the Communications Assistant (CA) to sign-off or be "released" from the telephone line after the CA has set up a telephone call between the originating text telephone (TTY) caller and a called TTY party, such as when a TTY user must go through a TRS facility to contact another TTY user because the called TTY party can only be reached through a voice-only interface, such as a switchboard.

            "Communications Assistant" or "CA" means a person who transliterates or interprets conversations between two or more end users of TRS.  CA supersedes the term "TRS operator".

            "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

            "Disability" refers to a condition of being permanently hearing disabled, deaf-blind, speech-disabled, hearing-sight disabled, or speech-sight disabled, as those terms are defined in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 755.10.

            "FCC" means Federal Communications Commission.

            "Hearing carry over" or "HCO" means a form of TRS in which the person with the speech disability is able to listen to the other end user and, in reply, the CA speaks the text as typed by the person with the speech disability.  The CA does not type any conversation.  Two-line HCO is an HCO service that allows TRS users to use one telephone line for hearing and the other for sending TTY messages.  HCO-to-TTY allows a relay conversation to take place between an HCO user and a TTY user.  HCO-to-HCO allows a relay conversation to take place between two HCO users.

            "Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation" or "ITAC" means the not-for-profit corporation jointly established by the Illinois telecommunications carriers providing local exchange service in order to administer the programs mandated by Section 13-703 of the Act on behalf of the carriers.

"Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol Provider" or "Interconnected VoIP Provider" has the same meaning as defined in Section 13-235 of the Act.  For purposes of this Part, Interconnected VoIP providers are limited to those providers subject to Section 13-401.1 of the Act.

            "Interexchange carrier" or "IXC" means  a telecommunications carrier providing interexchange service as defined in Section 13-205 of the Act.

            "Non-English language relay service" means a telecommunications relay service that allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities who use languages other than English to communicate with voice telephone users in a shared language other than English, through a CA who is fluent in that language.

            "Public Safety Answering Point" or "PSAP" means a facility that has been designated to receive 9-1-1 calls and route them to emergency services personnel.

            "Qualified interpreter" means an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.

            "Relay system" means the configuration, provision and operation of the facilities, equipment and personnel through which the telecommunications carriers shall provide relay service.

            "Speech-to-speech relay service" or "STS" means a telecommunications relay service that allows individuals with speech disabilities to communicate with voice telephone users through the use of specially trained CAs who understand the speech patterns of persons with speech disabilities and can repeat the words spoken by that person.

            "Speed dialing" means a TRS feature that allows a TRS user to place a call using a stored number maintained by the TRS facility.  In the context of TRS, speed dialing allows a TRS user to give the CA a "short-hand" name or number for the user's most frequently called telephone numbers.

            "SS7" or "Signaling System 7" means a carrier to carrier out-of-band signaling network used for call routing, billing and management.  SS7 provides for the delivery of Caller ID, improves access to 9-1-1, and eliminates the need to collect some information currently collected manually through caller profiles.

            "Staff Liaison" means the Staff Liaison established by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 755.400.

            "System provider" means that corporation, organization, coalition or entity who, under contract to the ITAC, provides the relay system through which the telecommunications carriers shall provide relay service.

            "Telecommunications carrier" or "carrier" has the same meaning as in Section 13-202 of the Act that is providing local exchange telecommunications service as defined in Section 13-204 of the Act.  For purposes of this Part, "telecommunications carrier" or "carrier" also includes telecommunications carriers that are mutual concerns as defined in Section 13-202(b) of the Act.

            "Telecommunications relay service " or "TRS" or "relay service" means telephone transmission services that provide the ability for an individual with a hearing or speech disability to engage in communication by wire or radio with a hearing individual in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of an individual who does not have a hearing or speech disability to communicate using voice communication services by wire or radio.  This term includes services that enable two-way communication between an individual who uses a text telephone or other nonvoice terminal device and an individual who does not use such a device, speech-to-speech services, non-English language relay service, and video relay service.  TRS supersedes the terms "dual party relay system", "message relay services" and "TDD Relay".

            "Text telephone" or "TTY" means a machine that employs graphic communication in the transmission of coded signals through a wire or radio communication system.  TTY supersedes the term "TDD" or "telecommunications device for the deaf" and "TT".

            "Three-way calling" means a TRS feature that allows more than two parties to be on the telephone line at the same time with the CA.

            "Transliterate" means to verbally express a message received by TTY or to send by TTY a verbal message received.

            "Video relay service" or "VRS" means a telecommunications relay service that allows people with hearing or speech disabilities who use sign language to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment.  The video link allows the CA to view and interpret the party's signed conversation and relay the conversation back and forth with a voice caller.

            "Voice carry over" or "VCO" means a form of TRS in which the person with the hearing disability is able to speak directly to the other end user. The CA types the response back to the person with the hearing disability.  The CA does not voice the conversation.  Two-line VCO is a VCO service that allows TRS users to use one telephone line for voicing and the other for receiving TTY messages.  A VCO-to-TTY TRS call allows a relay conversation to take place between a VCO user and a TTY user.  VCO-to-VCO allows a relay conversation to take place between two VCO users.

            "Wireless carrier" has the meaning given to that term in Section 10 of the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act [50 ILCS 751].

(Source:  Amended at 41 Ill. Reg. 5446, effective May 5, 2017)