ITU-T Recommendation V.18: The First Communications Standard for the Deaf

Abstract

In June 1994 Draft Recommendation V.18 was approved by the International Telecommunications Union—Telecommunication Standardization Sector Study Group 14. This recommendation provides a platform for a future universal text telephone for the deaf and hard of hearing. This article first briefly describes the history of deaf telephony, which led to many diverse solutions to this problem, and then outlines the features of Recommendation V.18 that will provide a migration path toward a single international text telephone.