Relay South Carolina

Voice Carry-Over (VCO)
7-1-1
South Carolina Only - 1-877-735-8263
Intrastate Only - 1-877-826-2255

Voice Carry-Over (VCO) is an ideal service that enables a hard-of-hearing or deaf user to use his/her voice to speak directly to hearing person. If you are a late-deafened adult who has difficulty hearing over the phone, VCO Direct, could be the perfect communication solution for you!

When the hearing person speaks to you, the relay operator will serve as your "ears" and type everything said to you on a TTY or text display.

Relay South Carolina also offers VCO with Privacy upon your request. The relay operator will not hear your speaking through Relay South Carolina, and only type voiced responses back to you.

Dial the relay VCO number.
Relay South Carolina will answer "SPRINT OPR 8234M VOICE (OR TYPE) GA", where "8234" for CA identification, "F" or "M" for CA gender and "GA" denotes "go ahead."
Voice or type the area code and telephone number of the party you want to call. If you prefer VCO with privacy, you can voice or type “VCO WITH PRIVACY PLS”.
The relay operator will type the message "Voice Now" to you as your cue to start speaking. You speak directly to the hearing person. The relay operator will not repeat what you say, but only type to you what the hearing person says. You both need to say "GA" at the end of your response.

Relay South Carolina provides 4 different types of VCO services:

VCO to TTY

The Relay Operator will type what the VCO user says to the TTY user. Whatever the TTY user types will go directly to the VCO user's TTY or text display equipment.

Dial Relay South Carolina's VCO phone number.

Relay South Carolina will answer with the Relay Operator's number, the operator's gender, and "VOICE (OR TYPE) NOW GA".

You can either voice or type "VCO TO TTY PLS". Then voice or type the area code and telephone number you want to call, follwoed by "GA".

When the TTY user answers, the Relay Operator will announce it is a VCO to TTY call and will type the message "GA" as your cue to start speaking.

The Relay Operator will type what you say to the TTY user you are calling.

Remember to wait for "GA" before responding.

VCO to VCO

The Relay Operator will serve as both VCO users' "ears" and type what each person says. Thsi is ideal for people who have a VCO phone or don't wish to type.

Dial Relay South Carolina's VCO phone number.

Relay South Carolina will answer with the Relay Operator's number, the operator's gender, and "VOICE (OR TYPE) NOW GA".

You can either voice or type "VCO TO VCO PLS". Then voice or type the area code and telephone number you want to call, follwoed by "GA".

The Relay Operator will type the greeting of the person you have called followed by "GA" as your cue to start speaking.

Remember to wait for "GA" before responding.

2-Line VCO

Two-line VCO allows a deaf or hard-of-hearing person with two telephone lines to use one line for speaking directly to a hearing person while the second line is used to received the hearing person's typed responses. This feature provides a more natural flow of conversation without the pauses of single-line calls.

The voice line must have conference/ three-way calling capability. Contact your phone company for adding the three-way calling service.

Dial Relay South Carolina's VCO phone number.

Relay South Carolina will answer with the Relay Operator's number, the operator's gender, and "VOICE (OR TYPE) NOW GA".

You can type the area code and telephone number of your second line and then type "TWO LINE VCO GA".

When your second line rings, answer it by voice and ask the Relay Operator to hold.

Press the conference button and then dial out the third party's number.

Press the conference button again to "bridge" all three parties.

If you have three-way calling feature:

Follow first four steps above.

Press and release the receiver button or flash key on your phone.

Dial out to the third party's number.

Press and release the receiver button or flash key again to "bridge" all three parties.

VCO to HCO

The VCO user speaks directly to the HCO user. The HCO user's typed responses are sent directly to the VCO user.

VCO User talks to HCO User directly.
HCO User then types to Relay Operator.
After "GA" is typed, Relay Operator, in turn, types the same message, and VCO User reads the message on the TTY screen.