Relay Services

State of Rhode Island

Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Executive Department/Established in 1977. Restructured in 1992.

ADA Title IV: Telecommunications Relay Services

Title IV addresses telephone and television access for people with hearing and speech disabilities. It requires common carriers (telephone companies) to establish interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services (TRS) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TRS enables callers with hearing and speech disabilities who use TTYs (also known as TDDs), and callers who use voice telephones to communicate with each other through a third party communications assistant. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set minimum standards for TRS services. Title IV also requires closed captioning of Federally funded public service announcements. For more information about TRS, contact the FCC at:

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
(888) 225-5322 (voice)
(888) 835-5322 (TTY)
Web site: www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro

Telephone Relay Services in Rhode Island

If you have complaints or concerns about the Relay Service in Rhode Island, you may want to contact Rhode Island Relay first to see if they could resolve your concern or issue.

Rhode Island Relay (www.rhodeislandrelay.com/)

Otherwise, you may report your complaint by mailing to Patricia Lucarelli, Chief of Legal Services with the following information below:

Patricia Lucarelli
Chief of Legal Services
Public Utilities Commission
89 Jefferson Boulevard
Warwick, RI 02888
(401) 780-2104
Patricia.lucarelli@puc.ri.gov

And cc: to the Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing:

Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
One Capitol Hill, Ground Level
Providence, RI 02908