The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) was authorized to establish Relay Texas by the Texas Legislature in 1989. The PUC, which is responsible for overseeing the provisions of the relay service, has contracted with Sprint to provide the relay service since 1990. The Relay Texas Advisory Committee of the PUC receives ideas from people to set goals for the service and to make policy recommendations for future improvements and actions. The advisory committee is made up of representatives of various groups including deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired, deaf-blind elderly consumer and telephone industry representatives. Relay Texas is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the length or number of calls placed.

Sprint now employs 194 agents and management staff at its relay center in Austin and 225 persons in the Lubbock center. In 1997, Relay Texas processed 4,297,340 calls, an 800 percent increase since the first year of service when 1,210,434 calls were handled.

Sprint provides Texas users with a full range of features from the company's state-of-the-art relay service platform. Those include the ability to communicate in Spanish, the use of a customer database for quicker, more efficient service, last number redial ability, error correction, directory assistance, several billing options, voice carryover and hearing carryover capabilities, and many others.

A key element of the success of Relay Texas is the outreach program designed to increase awareness and usage of the service. Along with basic educational efforts aimed at potential individual and business users, Sprint works directly with young people in a variety of supportive programs. Between 1992 and 1996, Sprint employees raised funds to donate about 100 TTYs to needy children and some adults, and later built on that effort with the creation of the annual Sprint 5K race. The first race, held in Austin in 1996, raised $10,000 to purchase 98 TTYs for children, and the 1997 race raised $14,000 for 140 more TTYs. As part of the race effort, employees have visited high schools to discuss deafness and pass out information about the relay service. The 1998 Sprint 5K will benefit Camp Sign, a camp serving deaf and hard-of-hearing children statewide. In addition, employees deliver presents each Christmas to all children in the Texas School for the Deaf elementary and special needs programs.

Relay Texas is recognized for having one of the most productive RAP in the country. An innovative marketing approach that subcontracts with various grassroot agencies, organizations, and individuals to perform outreach to increase awareness and exposure of Relay Texas across the Lone Star state. The RAP is funded by the Universal Services Fund. Relay Texas has experienced ongoing call volume growth since the inception of the RAP. Texas Commission for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Texas Association of the Deaf, Deaf Action Center, Better Business Bureau's Consumer Education Foundation, and Self Help for Hard of Hearing organizations are examples of our subcontractors since the implementation of the RAP.

Below are the statistics on Relay Texas call volume. In the first month of September 1990, Relay Texas processed a little over 50,000 outbound calls. In June 1998, we broke the 400k barrier with 400,595 outbound calls. This represents an approximately 800% increase of call volume growth since 1990.