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Promoting access to electronic communications for deaf people

..	Landmarks in Deaf Telecoms		..

	1973	First telephone call in UK between deaf people using old telex machines.
	1980	Prototype relay service for deaf people (TED) started by RNID.
	1981	The UK's first textphone, Vistel - the visual telephone - introduced by Breakthrough Deaf-Hearing Integration. Public telephones begin to be adapted for use by hearing-aid users.
	1982	First electronic mail network established amongst deaf people in the UK by Breakthrough Deaf-Hearing Integration. Research establishes that typed telephone conversations take seven times as long as spoken ones.
	1985	A widely available and popular textphone introduced in the UK.
	1989	Text Users' Rebate Scheme launched by BT to lower telephone bills of textphone users. Administered by RNID.
	1992	Typetalk launched, enabling telephone conversations between people with textphones and hearing people.
	1995	Textphone Emergency Service launched. Text payphones installed nationally. TAG Better Use of Networks project starts, funded by BT.
	1997	TAG Better Use Of Networks Conference.
	1998	TAG publishes the TAG Directory and Proceedings of the TAG Better Use Of Networks Conference.
	1999	TAG’s newsletter, Sequel, launched.
	2001	Typetalk relay service changes over to TextDirect, simplifying connection procedure
	2003	Communications Act passed, strengthening the provisions for deaf telecoms users.