August 27, 2026
Source: Federal Communication Commission (FCC).
On August 21, 2026, the FCC adopted a Report and Order deleting the outdated requirement that TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) be compatible with the ASCII standard. Few if any TTY users made TTY-based TRS calls using the ASCII format over the past several years, and TTY devices supporting the ASCII format are no longer commercially available. In November 2024, the Commission waived the ASCII compatibility requirement for two years, or until the completion of this proceeding, whichever is earlier. TTY-based TRS using the Baudot format remains available for TTY users.
The changes adopted by the FCC do not go into effect until a summary is published in the Federal Register with the effective date of these changes.
Report and Order: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-order-deleting-outdated-ascii-rule
For general information about TTY relay services, visit https://www.fcc.gov/tty-relay. For specific questions about this item, please contact Joshua Mendelsohn at (202) 559-7304 (voice or videophone) or Joshua.Mendelsohn@fcc.gov.
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