Connect with the NTS System
by NXi Communications

Organizations that care talk ... and listen to people who are deaf or speech impaired.

Each and every person in your organization can directly talk and listen to callers and fellow employees who have hearing and speech disabilities.

The NTS solution requires:   No magic potions. No TDDs. No third party helpers.  No interpreters. No relay service required.

Transfer calls. Take "voice" mail and e-mail messages. And much more.  All from the comfort of your computer network.

NXi's NTS client/server solution available from TeleSonic offers a practical and affordable approach.

To learn more about the NTS Network Communication System, select from the items below:

What is the NTS Network Communication System?
Benefits
The Old Way vs. the NTS Way
Advantages and Features
How the NTS Network Communication System Works
NTS and the TeleSonic CONNECTS Program
Minimum Requirements
Schedule Free Demos
Pricing

What is the NTS Network Communication System?

The NTS Network Communication System provides organization-wide internal and external communications for people who are deaf, hearing impaired, or speech impaired. Communication with individuals within an organization is achieved by installing client software in each individual PC.  The LAN-based (Local Area Network) communication server can be equipped with special modems that receive calls from both TTY machines and modem-equipped computers, located outside the organization.  All hearing and nonhearing members of the organization are able to communicate with hearing and nonhearing external callers as well as with hearing and nonhearing internal fellow employees.

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Benefits

Connect your organization to everybody. Don't be left out of the communication loop.  Enjoy increased visibility.   Capture a greater share of the marketplace.  Serve a greater number of people for significantly less than the cost of equipping and training each person within your organization with a TTY.  Meet new guidelines and regulations designed for people with disabilities.  Improve employee morale.  And save time and energy by enhancing your organization's operating efficiencies. This intuitive, easy-to-use communication system requires minimum staff
training, but gets powerful results.

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The Old Way vs. the NTS Way

The Old Way  In the past, making your organization fully accessible to people who are deaf or speech impaired  was difficult.  You may have placed one or more TTYs (TDDs) on phone extensions, but too often no one was available when a call came in - - or worse yet, the appropriate person with the "answers" was located in a different office or on a different floor from the TTY, or didn't know how to respond to the caller because he/she didn't know how to use the TTY. Reliance on relay operators was not always the solution either - - too many times a relay operator is not familiar with the "jargon" or "techno lingo" of the subject matter being discussed, and then has difficulty translating between the parties.  Confidentialty was another issue - - even though relay operators are sworn to secrecy, sometimes the personal nature of a call makes it difficult for the caller to share it with a third party intermediary.

The New NTS Way  Now, a person who is deaf or speech impaired can call directly into your organization using a TTY or modem (just like a person with good hearing who makes a phone call to your organization), and the text call is routed through your LAN/WAN right to the desktop of anyone in your organization.

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Advantages and Features

With the NTS Network Communication System, client software is installed on selected network computers on your organization's LAN or WAN, and TTY compatible modems are installed at one, or several, central locations.

Handle Incoming Calls with Ease

After you install the NTS Communication System, when a deaf caller phones your organization using a TTY or modem, you have several options for handling the call:

• Direct the call to a department or individual
  
  If a department is selected, all members of the department can receive a simultaneous "ring box" to their computer screens.  The first person to click on "answer" at the screen pop will get the call.  No more missed calls since a department ring to a group of people will usually insure that someone will see and answer the call.
  
  If an individual is selected, the called person's "ring box" will flash (and ring) on his/her computer screen.

• Direct the call to a "call flow script"
  
  Your organization can create an automated call flow script which can ask questions of the caller, give the caller choices, present services such as fax-on-demand, text information by topic, call transfers to a specific person or department, or give the option of leaving a message for a person or department.

Not Available to Take a TTY Call? Accept and Respond to Messages from TTY Callers with Ease

If you are not available to answer a call, the NTS System allows the caller to leave a message. After taking a message from a deaf or speech impaired TTY caller, the NTS system can ask the caller if a call back is desired.  If so, the NTS system will ask for the caller's TTY phone number.  The system can be set to forward the message to an e-mail account, an alpha pager, an NTS "text-mail" box, a fax machine, or another staff member within the organization.

Anyone in Your Organization Can Call Directly Out to a TTY

The NTS modems can be shared among NTS users.  Any NTS user running the Client Software can use a NTS network modem for outgoing calls.  On a wide area network (WAN), the NTS Network Communication System will choose a network modem to minimize phone charges.

Provide Calls and Messaging From Within Your Organization's
LAN or WAN

The NTS System can allow your deaf and hearing employees to communicate with one another more effectively.  Any NTS user may call any other NTS user within the LAN/WAN for "live chat" discussions, without the use of an NTS modem.

Messages sent to an NTS user are delivered according to the called party's own preferences.  The NTS System can deliver a message to an e-mail account, alpha pager, fax, the NTS server message service, or even to an outside TTY phone number as specified by the user.

Make Conference Calls

Three or more people may all type at the same time on a split screen, facilitating group discussions.

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How the NTS Network Communication System Works

An add-on software program and accompanying hardware to support callers who are deaf are set up and installed on existing LANs.  With the NTS Network Communications System, organizations can use an existing computer network (or set up a new one) to provide organization-wide communications for people who are deaf, hearing impaired, or speech impaired.

Diagram Courtesy of NXi Communications, Inc.

• Network users can "share" the NTS Network Communication System's special server modems

• Incoming TTY calls can be routed to any computer on the network which has NTS client software installed

• Computer users on the NTS network can make outgoing calls to any TTY or modem

• Text calls can be made simultaneously between any computers on the NTS network
  

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NTS and the TeleSonic CONNECTS Program

The CONNECTS Program is offered by TeleSonic to establish direct people-to-people telephone communications between all employees within an organization and deaf callers outside the organization.  The Program also provides internal and external communication links for deaf employees from within an organization. 

The CONNECTS Program aims to provide functionally equivalent access to deaf citizens, including direct (no relay utilization) and confidential person-to-person telephone communications, and expanded utilization of existing organization computer network infrastructures. This modular one-stop shop program allows you to selct only those elements necessary for the successful implementation of your solution.

TeleSonic CONNECTS Program offerings include free demonstrations; on-site evaluation of technical needs; set-up and installation of the NTS Communication System (and where required, set-up and installation of a LAN system when one is not already in place); training for System Administrators and organization staff members; and ongoing technical maintenance and support packages.

TeleSonic is an authorized NXi Communications Preferred Solutions Provider.

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Minimum Requirements

Minimum requirements for the domain server system include an IBM PC (or compatible) Pentium class with at least 32 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk space, and Windows 95/98 or Windows NT with support for TCP/IP. Client computers should be part of the LAN (local area netwrok) or WAN (wide area network) and require Windows 95/98 or NT with support for TCP/IP.

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Schedule Free Demos

Free demonstrations of the NTS Network Communication System are held Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 to 4:00 PM at TeleSonic's offices in Annapolis, Maryland.  A complete NTS LAN server system along with multiple client systems are available for you to examine and test.  Our demonstrators will provide you with an overview of the NTS System and how it works, and will be available to answer questions regarding your organization's specific requirements. We limit the number of people attending each demonstration to insure that time is available to answer each person's questions.  For that reason, reservations to attend a demonstration session are required in advance.  Please contact us at 1-800-888-5980 to reserve a space or request more details.

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Pricing

Pricing for the NTS Network Communication System is based upon the number of network modems and the number of clients on the system.  As the number of clients increase, the cost per user decreases. The cost per user, including installation, setup, and training is typically significantly less than the cost of supplying everyone within the organization with a TTY machine - - and the capabilities of the NTS system are significantly greater than those of TTY machines.   The sample configurations below illustrate the pricing plan:

Sample I: NTS System* with 750 Clients, 5 Network Modems on the Server, and 3 Personal Modems

Includes one year of maintenance support, 60 hours of
installation, setup, and training support services:

Cost per user	$58
Cost per user per year over 3 years	$19

Sample II: NTS System* with 100 Clients, 3 Network Modems on the Server, and 1 Personal Modem

Includes one year of maintenance support, 30 hours of
installation, setup, and training support services:

Cost per user	$131
Cost per user per year over 3 years	$44

To request a price proposal for your organization, please contact TeleSonic at 1-800-888-5980 (voice/TTY).

*Organization provides computer for server                     

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TeleSonic is an authorized NXi Communications Preferred Solutions Provider