MTS raising awareness about Text with 911 service for Manitoba's Deaf community

WINNIPEG, Dec. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - (TSX:MBT) MTS, Manitoba's leading full-service telecommunications provider, wants to remind the public about a vital messaging service that is available for the province's deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and speech-impaired (DHHSI) community.

As part of a national day of awareness, MTS is promoting its Text with 911 (T9-1-1) service, a safety tool that provides call centres with the ability to converse using text messaging.

"Two years ago, we were thrilled to be one of the first telecommunications providers in the country to make this free service available able to DHHSI Manitobans," said Heather Tulk, Chief Customer Officer, MTS. "MTS wants to make connecting to your world easy, and this is just one of the ways that we're striving to be open, helpful, dedicated and acountable to our customers."

Under the system, when a DHHSI person requires 9-1-1 services, they will simply dial 9-1-1 on their cell phone and the call taker will receive an indicator that tells them to communicate with the caller via text messaging. The 9-1-1 call taker then initiates text messaging with the caller to address the emergency.

T9-1-1 is reserved exclusively for the DHHSI community. Manitobans who wish to utilize the service must first register for T9-1-1 on the Text with 911 website and have a compatible cell phone. Full details are also available on our website.

About MTS 

At MTS, we're proud to be Manitoba's leading information and communications technology provider. We're dedicated to delivering a full suite of services for Manitobans – Internet, Wireless, TV, Phone Service and Security Systems plus a full suite of Information Solutions, including Unified Cloud and Managed Services. You can count on MTS to make connecting your world easy. We're with you.

We live where we work and actively give back to organizations that strengthen our communities. Through MTS Future First, we provide sponsorships, grants and scholarships, value-in-kind support and volunteer commitment in Manitoba.

MTS Inc. is wholly owned by Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (TSX: MBT). For more on MTS' products and services, visit mts.ca. For investor information, visit www.mts.ca/aboutus.

SOURCE MTS

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