New for 2011: Listing of New Canadian Relay Services

[Mark Rejhon]

The year 2011 may be the time that Canada finally gets out of the stone age, as far as online relay services is concerned. In 2011, you are no longer stuck with using a TDD to call Bell Relay Service or Telus Relay Service.
Example -- You can use a wireless laptop instead of using a TDD or TTY.
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• Bell Canada IP Relay
  required: People with Bell Home Phone
  web: iprelay.bell.ca
  info: How to register
  NOTE: Web based relay, ideal for desktops and wireless laptops. Real time typing.
  
  .
• Telus IP Relay
  required: People with Telus land line
  web: iprelay.telus.net
  info: How to register
  NOTE: Web based relay, ideal for desktops and wireless laptops. Real time typing.
  
  .
• Rogers Message Relay
  required: Rogers cellphone or home phone account
  Yahoo Messenger: RMrelayservice@yahoo.com
  MSN Messenger: RMrelayservice@hotmail.com
  AIM Chat: RMrelayservice@aol.com
  info How to register
  NOTE: Chat based relay, ideal for cellphones. Much slower, have to hit Enter to send messages (not real time typing transmission)

 

[Mark Rejhon]

________

TIP: If you don't have a home phone, you can use your parent's or relative's home phone to register for one or more of the above services. IP Relay works anywhere with an Internet connection. This means you don't need to be in the same location as the regular phone line to use IP Relay to call somebody, because you're using relay over the Internet. (The regular phone line is only needed to make sure that you're already a customer) So you can use IP-Relay even if you don't live with your parents. Make sure you get your parent's or relative's permission to add the relay service to their phone account, as you may be liable for long distance phone calls. Some Canadian IP relay services have free Canadian long distance calls, much as the USA IP relay services do. So there is no extra charge for your parents' phone bill. However, please verify by reading the fine print and rules, however.

 

[radioman]

whoo hoo ! awesome! now our Canadians can join us in modern age!

 

[ptcallaghan]

Sign up with my parents account....awesome idea..

Here I was thinkin I would have to go back to Bell which after almost 6 or so years of avoiding them like the plague I wasnt really looking forward to.

Not that my current combo of Rogers cell and Cable phone are the least bit useful to me anymore, but the fiance still benefits and for a fraction of what Bell wanted.

I just may have to hook up the ipRelay.

Can it be used from a smartphone using the browser??? I think it was Bells site that said no, but I cant understand why not....are you not using a standard/stripped down web browser??

 

[Mark Rejhon]

Can it be used from a smartphone using the browser??? I think it was Bells site that said no, but I cant understand why not....are you not using a standard/stripped down web browser??

I have no idea, but I know all the services work with a laptop tethered to the smartphone (over Bluetooth, WiFi Sharing, or USB cable).

It's possible that some of the sites require Adobe Flash or Java, not typically found in most smartphone web browsers. I know that some IP relay services and Sprint WebCapTel uses JavaScript/AJAX, which works fine on iPhones, Android and recent BlackBerry models.

 

[Mark Rejhon]

Update....What a STUPID web design mistake at Bell Canada.

They have two identical websites, https://iprelay.bell.ca and https://myiprelay.bell.ca that have no difference in labelling. Not even "RESIDENTIAL RELAY" versus "BUSINESS RELAY".

Your login will work only one one or the other, not both. Make sure you register at the Residential Relay site, not the Business Relay site.

After Bell having paid for a banner advertisement on AllDeaf, they could have spent a few pennies on properly displaying a "BUSINESS RELAY [click here if you wanted residential relay instead]" graphic versus a "RESIDENTIAL RELAY [click here if you wanted business relay instead]" because both websites are identical, and I always logon to websites by web addresses in my memory -- never by bookmarks. They did not choose clearer domain names, "biz.iprelay.bell.ca" versus "home.iprelay.bell.ca" domain names. (Probably some specific person or group decided a 2nd domain was needed, and didn't realize these implications) Also, in an emergency situation where you do not have your TDD and need to make an emergency call, typing the wrong web address can mean somebody could die, if they forget to type the word "my" in the web address when they are going from memory, remembering the web address in a rush.

Hope Bell fixes this, once someone at Bell realises they ruined a little bit of free advertising I had given Bell! (Bell, if you're reading, wink, wink)
And I also 'lost' iprelay service for a few days due to the confusion. Now I know!