Assistance
Additional Resources & Information
Mandatory 10-digit dialing became effective on October 24, 2021, for multiple states/area codes.
For Minnesota area codes:
- 218
- 320
- 952
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted 988 as a new three-digit number to be used nationwide to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline, effective July 16, 2022.
In order for 988 to work in your area code, mandatory 10-digit local dialing was implemented.
What is the new dialing procedure?
To complete all local calls, you will now need to dial the area code + telephone number.
Who is affected?
Anyone with a telephone number from your area code will need to make a change from 7-digit local dialing to 10-digit local dialing.
How do I call 988?
Dialing 988 on your telephone will route your call to the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.
What remains the same?
Your telephone number, including the current area code, will not change.
- The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the dialing change.
- What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed.
- You will continue to dial 1 + area code + telephone number for all long distance.
- You can still dial just three digits to reach 711 (relay services) and 911 (emergency services).
- Any 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, or 811 services available in your community can still be reached by dialing their three-digit.
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Who may you contact with questions?
If you have any questions regarding the information provided in this notice, please call CTC at 218-454-1234 for more information.
You can also visit the FCC website at https://www.fcc.gov/988-suicide-and-crisis-lifeline.
Minnesota’s Telephone Assistance Plan (TAP) offers a monthly credit of $10.00 on your landline telephone service. You may receive the TAP credit on one landline phone per household. Broadband internet discount does not apply to TAP.
The federal Lifeline Program offers a monthly discount of $9.25 on wireless telephone service, or $9.25 on a broadband internet service account. You may receive the Lifeline discount on one telephone or internet service per household.
Tribal lands Link Up offers a one-time credit of up to $100 on installation or activation charges. Tribal lands Lifeline offers an additional monthly credit of up to $34.25 wireless telephone or internet service plan.
The telephone or broadband service must be in your name. You must show proof that you or a member of your household participates in at least one of the following programs or is income-eligible:
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
- Medicaid/Medical Assitance (MA)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
- Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
- Tribal Head Start (for those meeting income-qualifying standards)
If you do not participate in any of the programs listed above, you may qualify if your income is at or below 135% of the 2025 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines: (The federal poverty guidelines are updated mid-March.)
| Household Size | Income |
| 1 | $21,546 |
| 2 | $29,214 |
| 3 | $36,882 |
| 4 | $44,550 |
| 5 | $56,218 |
| 6 | $59,886 |
| For each additional person, add | $7,668 |
How do I apply?
Visit www.lifelinesupport.org to verify eligibility and apply for this federal program.
Could I become ineligible?
When you no longer participate in any of the qualifying programs listed above, you are no longer eligible for LifeLine, LinkUp or TAP. You are obligated by law to notify the telephone company and advise the company that you are no longer eligible for LifeLine, LinkUp, or TAP.
For more information and to see if you are eligible for either program, click the links below:
Lifeline Information & Application
Link Up assistance provides a discount of up to $100 off the customary charge for the initial set up of voice only service at a Tribal Lifeline subscriber’s primary residence. Link Up is available to subscribers who reside on Tribal lands and use a facilities-based service provider that receives High Cost program support. Link Up is a one-time benefit per address; subscribers can request Link Up once for each change of primary residential address.
For service initiation charges of up to $200, Link Up also provides a deferred, no-interest payment plan to the subscriber for up to one year.
Before providing Link Up to the consumer, service providers must check the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) to confirm whether the consumer previously received a Link Up benefit at their address.
Are you having trouble using the telephone due to a hearing or speech disability?
Minnesota Relay is a free telephone service that uses specially trained communications assistants to facilitate telephone calls between people with hearing and speech disabilities and other individuals. Calls can be made to anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All calls are completely confidential. To make a relay call dial 711. Once connected to the relay service, tell the communications assistant the type of relay call you wish to make. Or you may dial the specific toll-free number for the type of relay service.
Captioned Telephone Service (CTS)
CTS uses a special telephone with a text display screen so that a person who is hard of hearing can listen to and read captions of everything the other person on the call says. You speak directly to the other person on the call, and a relay communications assistant transcribes everything the other person says into captions, which appear on the display screen of your CTS phone.
Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS)
Internet-based forms of CTS are available for those who would like to use CTS on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. For more information on IP CTS go to fcc.gov/ipcts.
Hearing Carry Over (HCO)
1-800-627-3529
HCO allows a person who can hear clearly but who has very limited or no speech capability to make phone calls. Using a special text telephone, you type your conversation for the relay communications assistant to read to the other person and you listen directly to the other person’s response.
Hearing User
1-800-627-3529
A hearing person may use a standard telephone or mobile phone to place a relay call and speak with a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled.
Internet Protocol (IP) Relay
IP Relay is a text-based form of relay service that uses the internet, rather than a traditional telephone line and TTY, for calls. You can make your relay call using a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For more information on IP Relay go to fcc.gov/ip-relay.
Spanish Relay
1-877-627-5448
A Spanish speaking person with a hearing or speech disability can make relay calls. This is not a translation service – both people must speak Spanish, and at least one person must have a hearing or speech disability.
Speech-to-Speech (STS)
1-877-627-3848
STS allows a person who has difficulty speaking or being understood on the phone to communicate using his or her own voice or voice synthesizer. The communications assistant revoices your words so that the other person on the call can understand them, and the other person speaks directly to you.
Text Telephone (TTY)
1-800-627-3529
This service allows a person who is deaf, deafblind, or speech disabled to use a TTY to communicate with the other person on the call.
Video Relay Service (VRS)
VRS allows a person who uses American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate over the phone. The VRS user connects to the relay communications assistant via an internet-enabled device with a video camera. The communications assistant relays the conversation back and forth between the people on the call – in ASL with the VRS user and by voice with the other person. For more information on VRS go to fcc.gov/vrs.
Voice Carry Over (VCO)
1-877-627-3024
VCO allows a person with a hearing disability, but who wants to use his or her own voice, to speak directly to the other person on the call. The communications assistant then types the other person’s response, which is displayed on the VCO user’s text telephone.
Emergency Assistance
TTY callers should dial 911 directly in an emergency. All 911 centers are equipped to handle TTY calls. Minnesota Relay can process emergency calls, but this may delay the response to your call.
More Information on Minnesota Relay Services
1-800-657-3775
To File a Complaint Regarding Minnesota Relay
Phone: 1-800-657-3775
Email: mn.relay@state.mn.us
You will need to provide:
- The date and time of the relay call
- The calling ‘from’ and ‘to’ phone numbers
- The CA’s identification number
- The nature of your complaint
You may also file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission
Voice: 1-888-225-5322
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
ASL via VP: 1-844-432-2275
MN ACT provides free specialized telecommunications equipment to income eligible Minnesotans who are having trouble using the telephone due to a hearing, speech, or physical disability.
https://mn.gov/deaf-hard-of-hearing/communication-access/mnact/
Voice: 1-800-657-3663
ASL via VP: 651-964-1514
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
The mission of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is to create and maintain a regulatory environment that ensures safe, reliable and efficient utility services at fair and reasonable rates for electric, natural gas and telecommunications services.
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC’s jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.
The National Do Not Call Registry, under the joint jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission was implemented in response to consumers’ concerns regarding unwanted telemarketing calls. The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home.
The registry applies to all telemarketers, with the exception of businesses with whom you have an existing relationship and certain non-profit and political organizations. Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is listed on the registry. Registry will be effective 31 days following your registration.
The Federal Trade Commission can add you to the National Do Not Call Registry online at www.donotcall.gov, or you can call 1-888-382-1222 to register. It is free to register your home and/or mobile phone.
To learn more about who may or may not call and to review the frequently asked questions, visit www.donotcall.gov. You can file a complaint if you receive unwanted calls from telemarketers to which the Do Not Call Registry applies.
The Federal Communications Commission requires that this notice be provided to our customers on an annual basis.
If you experience problems with closed captioning on our television service, please contact:
Max Walter
Member Services & Government Affairs Manager
Address: 14385 Edgewood Drive | Baxter, MN 56425
Fax: 218-454-3102
Email: max@goctc.com
Phone: 218-454-1234
This information may be used for both immediate closed captioning assistance and written closed captioning complaints.
Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity.
To learn more about how to avoid spoofing or file a complaint with the FCC, visit fcc.gov/spoofing