With this move the FCC aims to prove text messaging a much needed upgrade.

The U.S. FCC is all set to adopt a new proposal which will go a long way to help people with communication disabilities.

The new proposal revolves around a new technique, called Real-Time-Text (RTT), which will replace the ageing teletypwriter (TTY) that is used to transmit texts over traditional phone lines. RTT will work on “IP-based environments.”

As per a statement from the FCC, RTT will “”allow Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech disabled or deaf-blind to use the same wireless communications devices as their friends, relatives and colleagues, and more seamlessly integrate into tomorrow’s communications networks.”

For the common man with a smartphone, the difference in technology will be substantial, since RTT allows commonly used text messaging systems to be sent as soon as they are typed, which allows for crucial “conversational” exchanges especially when there are emergencies.

RTT will allow consumers to communicate with one another on voice based phones and vice versa. There will be no need to upgrade your smartphone since the technology does not depend on any specialized equipment.

TTY was designed for being used over regular telephones wires, as opposed to RTT which works in an IP based environment, which has seen dramatic adoption rates in recent years. Currently the FCC has limited the transmission speeds of RTT at 60 words per minute.

It has called on “large carriers” to roll out this technology by December 2017.