Inclusive Technologies

The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (PDF) was signed into law on October 8, 2010, after several years of drafting, revision, and tough final negotiation. The Act will apply accessibility requirements to a wide range of new digital media and communication technologies.  Here are just some of its provisions:

• Requires accessible VoIP equipment and services
• Requires built-in mobile phone browsers to be accessible
• Establishes a clearinghouse of information on accessible products and services
• Allocates $10 million per year for equipment used by deaf-blind customers
• Establishes FCC advisory committees on Emergency Access and Video Programming Access
• Requires additional captioning and video description, including some online content
• Requires accessibility features on video devices, including access to content and menu navigation

The FCC has an ambitious agenda to deliver regulations for all these provisions over the next few years.  The work of the advisory committees will determine some of the details in that direction.  But looking at the big picture, this Act will transform how manufacturers, service providers, and consumers address accessibility.  The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) drafted the original bill, lobbied for it, negotiated over it, and deserves most of the credit for a visionary yet pragmatic piece of legislation.

As part of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Department of Justice has released 4 Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) asking for public comment on whether and how to extend the ADA to cover:

• Web Information and Services
• Movie Captioning and Description
• Next Generation 9-1-1
• Equipment and Furniture

All 4 are intended to apply to both public and private environments.  The ANPRMs will collect comments from the public, and will be followed by more steps leading to new regulations.

On March 22, 2010, the US Access Board released its draft ICT accessibility rules, for public comment.  This is the next milestone in updating both Section 255 and Section 508 regulations.  This draft is called an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  Comments on it will be factored into a future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which will have another comment period for revision, followed by the final rules and an implementation timetable.

We encourage industry and consumers alike to participate in this dialogue as we seek to make all forms of ICT accessible.

The FCC released its National Broadband Plan (PDF), and accessibility advocates should be congratulating themselves on all the accessibility recommendations in it.  It includes almost all of the provisions found in the COAT bill, and adds a few more: a high-level Broadband Accessibility Working Group, exhortations to fully implement Section 508, exploration of network-based accessibility services like NPII, and enough other technological and policy initiatives to keep us experts all employed forever offer an almost utopian vision of a fully accessible ICT universe.

The FCC has announced that Karen Peltz Strauss will become the Commission’s new Deputy Bureau Chief of the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau.  Karen is a long-time expert and advocate on access, having worked with Gallaudet University, the Telecommunications Access RERC, and COAT.  She has been involved in every aspect of accessibility legislation and regulation for more than 30 years, including authoring key sections of the ADA and the Telecom Act.  Karen was the first head of the FCC’s Disability Rights Office.  She authored A New Civil Right, a comprehensive history of telecommunications accessibility.  Her appointment is a signal from the Obama administration and FCC Chairman Genachowski that accessibility will not be shunted aside, but will be built into the fabric of US technology policy as it seeks to expand access to broadband to all citizens.