it accessibility 2001 ensuring information technology access for people with disabilities national...
TRANSCRIPT
IT Accessibility 2001
Ensuring Information Technology Access for People with DisabilitiesNational Institute of Standards and Technology
May 22-23, 2001
Presentation by:
Karen Peltz StraussDeputy Bureau Chief
Consumer Information BureauFederal Communications Commission
Section 255-Access to telecommunications equipment and services
Captioning of television programming
Standards for closed captioning decoders
Video description of television programming
Telecommunications relay services
The FCC Regulates Many Access Issues
Hearing aid compatibility/volume control
Allocation of spectrum
Section 508 (agency compliance)
Access to wireless services (analog and digital)
Internet telephony (to lesser extent)
The FCC Regulates Many Access Issues (Cont.)
DISABILITIES RIGHTS OFFICE
Review relevant agenda items and other documents prepared by other bureaus to ensure conformance with existing disability laws and policies.
Provide advice and assistance to other Bureaus, to members of the industry, and to the
consuming public on disability laws and policies.
Prepare and conduct rulemaking proceedings relatedto disability access.
DISABILITIES RIGHTS OFFICE (Cont.)
Assist FCC at Consumer Centers and Enforcement Bureau on disability-related questions and complaints
Work with Consumer Education Office on outreach and education pertaining to disability issues
Prepare Commission materials in accessible formats
Improved Relay Services – February 2000
Expands definition of relay services to include speech-to-speech relay, Spanish language relay
Steps to encourage use of video relay services
Requires immediate transfer of emergency calls to 911 operators
Establishes minimum typing speed of 60 words per minute
Establishes partial access to interactive response systems
Hot key for notification Recording of message Waiver of duplicate charges for extra calls
New FCC Orders
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Relay Services February 2000
New technologies
IP Relay
National Outreach
Access to Emergency ProgrammingApril 2000
Requires televised emergency programming to be accessible to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing
May use open or closed captions, crawls, or scrolls across the screen
New FCC Orders (Cont.)
Video Description – July 2000
Requires certain networks to insert audio descriptions of the key elements of a television’s program into the natural pauses of the audio portion of that program
Requires broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors to make their emergency information accessible to viewers who are blind or have visual disabilities
711 Relay Access – July 2000
One easy, uniform relay access number nationwide will make access to relay easy, fast, and uncomplicated – will also encourage call-backs by voice users
Effective October 1, 2001
New FCC Orders (Cont.)
Digital Captioning – July, 2000
Adopts technical standards for the display of closed captions on digital television receivers
Viewers may control size, font, and color of captions
Viewers may choose among multiple streams of captioning
New FCC Orders (Cont.)
Telecommunications for the Disabled Act of 1982
Initial use of “universal service” obligation to mandate telephone access
Recognition of limitations of a competitive marketplace for people with disabilities
Recognition of costs to society of “lost access”
Reference to “pervasiveness of the telephone” in “commercial transactions” and “personal contacts” (parallel to current pervasiveness of the Net and other information technologies)
Breaking Down the Barriers
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (federal employment and federally assisted programs)
Telecommunications for the Disabled Act of 1982 (hearing aid compatibility, specialized customer premises equipment)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (physical and communications access)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 (access to schools)
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (access to telecommunications products and services, closed captioning and video description for television programming)
Access to Technology - Regardless of Age or Ability
Jobs
Information
Education
Entertainment
Marketplace
Section 255
Telecommunications products and services must be made accessible to and usable by
people with disabilities if readily achievable.
If it is not readily achievable to make a product or service accessible, the product or service must be made compatible with existing peripheral devices and specialized customer premises equipment (SCPE), if readily achievable.
Examples of SCPE: TTYs, artificial larynxes, augmentative communication devices.
Must consider needs of people with disabilities inproduct and service design (product and service
testing, market research, product trials and demonstrations)
Consultation with people with disabilities is critical
Review products for accessibility, usability, and compatibility at every “natural opportunity”
significant changes in product and service packages, re-designs, and upgrades not cosmetic changes (color, model name)
Section 255
Can be accomplished without much difficulty or expense
Consider:
The company’s resources The cost of the access needed The nature of the access needed
Balance the above with the resources needed to implement the needed change
What is Readily Achievable?
What Services Are Affected?
Telecommunications services such as local service, long distance service, wireless, and paging services
“Adjunct to basic” services – caller ID, call forwarding, call waiting, etc.
Interactive voice response services and voice mail when provided for a fee
What Products are Affected?
Customer Premise Equipment – equipment that connects directly to the network to originate or receive a call. Includes specialized customer premises equipment that directly connects to the network.
Voicemail and Interactive menu functions of a PBX or network equipment
Voicemail and interactive menu service provided for a fee
What Does Accessible Mean?
Can it be used by people with various disabilities?
Can someone with no hearing use the product? Limited strength? Limited vision?
Consider: input, control, and mechanical functions output, display, and control functions
Example: Pager with visual and audio controls for inputting information, and a visual display and audio output for retrieving information would be accessible to
individuals who are deaf and/or blind.
What Does Usable Mean?
Access to product information Product instructions and user guide Functionally equivalent access to support services:
technical support hotlines and databases call centers service centers access to repair services billing services
Section 255 Notice of Inquiry
Internet Protocol Telephony (IP Telephony)Comments Sought On:
Access issues – e.g., transmission of TTY tones in a packet-switched communications protocol
Industry efforts to provide access
Compatibility with assistive technology
IP telephony usage; projected usage
FCC role in guaranteeing access
Computer Based Equipment (i.e., not connected to the network)
Examples: Voicemail, phone-to-phone IP telephony, interactive menus for end users – Is this customer premises equipment (CPE) under Section 255?
Section 508
Federal Agencies must procure and use accessible electronic and information technology
Computers – hardware and software
Telecommunications equipment
Web-based information and applications
Multimedia applications: video, audio, animation, graphics, and text delivered via video and audiotape, CD- and DVD-ROM, Internet, broadcast, narrowcast, and satellite
Section 508
Access Board issued rules on
Standards of accessibility of operation and information – ability to locate, identify and operate all input, control and mechanical functions
Standards for compatibility with peripheral devices (adaptive technology)
Standards for access to information, documentation, labeling and support
Access to the Virtual World
Leveling the playing field: achieving independence and autonomy
Federal policy: no access charges, taxes or fees on emerging Internet technologies
Freedom from regulation brings responsibility: industry must make access part of their design practices
Avoid expensive and burdensome retrofits
Inclusion, not exclusion: upgrades should not remove accessible services (example: voice recognition technology – avoid a repeat of the “talkies” effect)
Access benefits everyone – closed captioning, vibrating pagers, slower IVR recordings
How Can You Contact Us? (Disability Information)
Federal Communications Commission445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Mail Address
Disabilities Rights Office Website: www.fcc.gov/cib/dro Email list - DROInfo: To subscribe, send message to: [email protected] Complaints, inquiries? [email protected]
To Obtain Information Via E-Mail:
To Obtain Information Via Telephone
How Can You Contact Us? (General Information)
1-888-225-5322 (1-888-CALLFCC) Voice: toll-free1-888-835-5322 (1-888-TELLFCC) TTY: toll-free
(202) 418-0232 FAX(202) 418-2830 FAX on Demand