Technology & Innovation
The Federal Communications Commission adopted an order eliminating the requirement that traditional text-telephone relay providers support American Standard Code for Information Interchange, or ASCII. Providers must continue supporting Baudot, the format used for almost all remaining TTY relay traffic. The change becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It does not switch off relay service on the order’s release date and does not remove the broader accessibility duties established by federal law.
Telecommunications relay services allow people with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate through assistants who translate between typed and spoken messages. Decades ago, the FCC required both Baudot and ASCII because ASCII appeared likely to become the superior standard. Technology moved differently. Internet-based relay, captioned services and other tools expanded, while ASCII-format TTY traffic became exceptionally rare.
The record cited by the commission found fewer than 100 ASCII minutes during a three-month 2022 sample and fewer than 10 users in any month. That was about 0.01 percent of TTY-based relay minutes. Two providers currently offer the legacy service. The FCC concluded that maintaining specialized ASCII-compatible hardware and software imposes costs and complicates network upgrades, while users can continue with Baudot or other relay technologies.
Accessibility organizations supported removal but asked the commission to protect any remaining ASCII users. The order says providers should use existing outreach channels during transition and notes that Baudot equipment remains available through state distribution programs. The FCC did not require a separate individual-notice regime. That implementation choice deserves monitoring, particularly for users without broadband who rely on equipment and service habits built over many years.
Uncle Sibursam’s circuit check: confirmed are the adopted order, usage figures, continued Baudot mandate and delayed effective date. The claim that the FCC abolished TTY relay is false. Disputed are the sufficiency of outreach and the true transition burden for the last users. Unknown are the publication date and number of households needing help. Expected next are Federal Register publication, provider notices and network changes. Retiring a protocol can free resources for modern accessibility, but good engineering includes a tested path for the people still attached to the old wire. Providers should publish transition contacts and verify that emergency, long-distance and interexchange calls still work for remaining Baudot users after each network change. State equipment programs can identify remaining ASCII devices and offer hands-on conversion support before the effective date.
State equipment programs can inventory remaining ASCII devices and offer hands-on conversion support before the federal effective date.
Sources
- Federal Communications Commission — Telecommunications Relay Services Report and Order FCC 26-56 (08-25-2026)
- Federal Communications Commission — T-Mobile Petition for Rulemaking on ASCII TTY Support (08-24-2022)