October, 2007 Technology and Disability Highlights
Volume: 7.09 October, 2007
Other Available Formats
Contents:
- Overview
- Legislative / Policy Activities
- Judicial Activities
- Regulatory Activities
- Reports / Studies / Publications
- Other Activities and Items of Interest
- International Activities
- RERC Updates
- Upcoming Events
Overview
Wireless consumers were the focus of Congressional attention during the month of October, with a Senate Committee hearing testimony on consumer practices in the wireless industry, and two bills introduced to Congress, [S 2171 and HR 3789] regarding the rights of wireless consumers. The Wireless RERC will continue to monitor the bills progress.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) requested action by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin to give approval to TracFone (a prepaid wireless company) to participate in the Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline program for low income individuals. In addition, the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) filed an informal complaint with the FCC against Apple over the inaccessibility of the iPhone with Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) guidelines.
One corporation that will make accessibility changes in the near future is Target. The company was sued in a class action suit on behalf of all blind Americans by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) (National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation, et al.) over the inaccessibility of its website for people who are blind or vision impaired. The U.S. District Court of Northern California ruled that Target’s website violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as California civil rights statutes. The NFB, along with other disability advocacy groups, hailed the decision as a great victory for individuals who are blind or visually impaired because now they can not only shop at Target online, but will have access to employment opportunities and important corporate information.
The RERC’s Wireless Emergency Communications development project released a document titled, Twelve Considerations for Accessible Emergency Communications, exploring a variety of factors that could potentially help meet the needs of people with disabilities during an emergency. In addition, the document provides a list of web-based resources with topic-specific information on emergency communications to people with disabilities.
Legislative / Policy Activities
Congress holds hearing on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R.3195)
10.4.2007 – The U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R.3195), a bill intended to restore the intent and protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The bill would amend the ADA to: (1) redefine "disability" as a physical or mental impairment, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment; and (2) to define additional terms, including "mental impairment" and "physical impairment." The bill also requires that the Act's provisions be broadly construed. H.R. 3195 is sponsored by Representative Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) with 232 cosponsors and was introduced July 26, 2007. It was referred to the House Education and Labor, Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce committees. The Senate companion bill, S. 1881, is sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) with two cosponsors; it was also introduced on July 26, 2007. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. [Sources: NCD Bulletin]
Senate Hears Testimony on Consumer Practices of Wireless Industry
10.17.2007 – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation heard testimony from a variety of witnesses regarding consumer practices of the wireless industry. Democrats and Republicans were divided on whether or not the wireless industry should be further regulated. Democratic senators pushed for more consumer protection, especially with regard to billing and early termination fees, and called for support of the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007 [S 2033.IS] to provide consumers with detailed, easy to understand information on wireless contracts and charges before they sign a long term contract. Republican senators countered by saying the bill would deter progress in the expanding wireless industry and that wireless companies were capable of handling consumer issues without regulation from government. A representative from Verizon Wireless, the only industry representation at the hearing, called for the Committee to protect consumers by addressing problems with the state utility-style economic regulation of wireless services and state and local taxes paid by consumers. [Sources: U.S. Senate and Wireless Week]
Wireless Consumer Protection Bills introduced in Congress
10.9.2007 – In addition to the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007 [S 2033.IS] (mentioned previously), two other bills were introduced in Congress in October; both designed to protect the rights of wireless consumers. The first is the Uniform Wireless Consumer Protection Act [S 2171], a bill introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 “to establish a uniform set of customer service and consumer protection requirements for providers of wireless telecommunications services.” Essentially, the bill will place the FCC in the position of establishing and regulating national wireless customer service and consumer protection rules. CTIA is among the industry groups that support the bill. The Consumer advocacy group Consumers Union expressed opposition to the bill because the group does not expect the FCC to develop a comprehensive set of regulations.
Earlier in October, the Consumer Cellphone Number Distribution Protection Act of 2007 [HR 3789] was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX). The bill prohibits the disclosure of a cell phone number if the number is not publicly available or if the discloser obtained it as a condition of completing a commercial transaction. The issues of privacy, security, and affordability are concerns for many wireless customers, and have been reported by consumers with disabilities in the Wireless RERC’s Survey of User Needs. The Wireless RERC will continue to monitor this legislation and report on outcomes relevant to our consumer population. [Sources: Library of Congress and RCR Wireless News]
Judicial Activities
Court Rules for Target.com Accessibility Changes
10.02.2007 – The U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, issued two decisions in a nationwide class action against Target Corporation (National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation, et al.; C 06-1802 MHP). In the first decision, the case brought by the NFB), was certified as a class action on behalf of blind Internet users. The second decision held that websites such as Target.com are required to be accessible by California law. It was NFB’s assertion that Target failed and refused to make its website accessible to blind people and therefore violated the ADA as well as two California civil rights statutes. Peter Blanck, chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, university professor at Syracuse University and Wireless RERC project consultant, was among counsel for the class. Legal documents related to the case are available through Disability Rights Advocates, also listed as counsel for the class. [Sources: National Federation for the Blind and Disability Rights Advocates]
Regulatory Activities
AAPD Asks FCC Chairman to Act on TracFone ETC Status
10.24.2007- In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) expressed its concern that the petition of TracFone Wireless for designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) has not yet been acted upon by the FCC. Currently, TracFone is prohibited from participating in the Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline low-income support program because it does not own its own facilities. AAPD supports TracFone’s ETC designation because it supports the affordable prepaid wireless service the company provides. AAPD noted in its letter to Chairman Martin that, to people with disabilities, the “availability and use of wireless service is a significant factor in maintaining a life of independence and productivity.” [Sources: AAPD and FCC]
FCC Receives HLAA Complaint against Apple Over iPhone
10.03.2007 – The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) filed a complaint with the FCC over the accessibility of Apple’s wireless handset, the iPhone. HLAA’s asserts that Apple had a responsibility to test the iPhone to current hearing aid compatibility (HAC) standards. According to FCC regulations, handset manufacturers offering two or fewer handsets are not required to comply with the HAC regulations. The iPhone is Apple’s only digital wireless handset, thus, the company is not required to meet HAC standards. However, if Apple decides to expand its wireless handset line, the company will be required to produce HAC compatible phones according to the guidelines set forth by the FCC. HLAA’s complaint will be heard before the FCC later in Fall 2007. [Sources: HLAA and Audiology Online and FCC]
CTIA Releases Wireless Industry Survey Results
10.23.2007 - CTIA – The Wireless Association has released the results of its 2007 Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey. According to the results of the survey, wireless data service revenues for the first half of 2007 rose to $10.5 billion from $6.5 billion in the first half of 2006 – an increase of 63%. Data revenues now amount to 15.5% of all wireless service revenues. The total number of wireless consumers rose to more than 243 million, an increase of 24 million subscribers in the past 12 months. Given these statistics, it is likely that the number of people with disabilities using wireless services has also increased, therefore the accessibility of wireless devices is more important than ever. [Source: CTIA]
Reports/Studies/Publications
AFB Survey on Cell Phone Access
Because of the significant interest in articles about cell phone accessibility, AFB is using this survey to gather information to help them plan future cell phone coverage in AccessWorld. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and add your input to AFB’s efforts. AFB has also created a form to gather specific information about access problems with cell phones. The form can be found in the cell phone accessibility area of its web site. You may also want to complete that form, which is intended to help AFB gather specific information to provide directly to cell phone manufacturers and service providers about the access barriers faced by people with disabilities. Also, the cell phone accessibility area of the web site provides information about cell phones, links to AccessWorld articles, and information about how to file a complaint with the FCC.
Other Activities and Items of Interest
Captioned Video Makes its Way to the Web
10.05.2007 – Through a partnership with the leading providers of web-based video, WGBH/Boston is working to increase the amount of captioned video accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Partners in this initiative include AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! WGBH’s National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) will establish and manage the initiative, titled the Internet Captioning Forum (ICF). The initiative will explore the technical solutions needed to caption previously broadcast video, as well as video designed exclusively for broadcast on the Internet. WGBH expects the following solutions and tools to result from the collaboration:
● “A database for online media distributors, populated by major captioning providers, of previously captioned programs. This tool will facilitate the location and reuse of existing caption files.
● Technical and standards documents, case studies and best practices for accomplishing pervasive online video captioning.
● Demonstrations of innovative practices to preserve captions while editing and digitizing captioned videos.”
Those involved with ICF hope that captioned videos will not only be beneficial to those who are deaf or hard of hearing, but will also be useful to individuals using online video in a noisy situation or at work, along with individuals who rely on translation engines to convert caption text into other languages. [Source: WGBH’s NCAM]
International Activities
Europe Moves Closer to Wireless Phones on Planes
10.18.2007 – The use of mobile phones in-flight may become a reality for Europeans after telecommunications regulator Ofcom issued a consultation on the issue. Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services. After negotiations with the European Union, Ofcom has proposed a situation in which a mobile base station would be installed onboard each plane. Calls from planes would be routed by satellite and would be treated as if the user were roaming. Currently, two European operators are able to provide such services: OnAir and Aeromobile. [Source: Ofcom and CNet News]
RERC Updates
Twelve Considerations for Accessible Emergency Communications
10.31.2007- The Wireless RERC’s Wireless Emergency Communications development project released its document titled, Twelve Considerations for Accessible Emergency Communications, exploring a variety of factors that could potentially help meet the needs of people with disabilities during an emergency. In addition, the document provides a list of web-based resources with topic-specific information on emergency communications to people with disabilities.
Upcoming Events
8th NCTI Technology Innovators Conference
The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) will bring together innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers for the 8th NCTI Technology Innovators Conference in Washington, DC on November 15-16, 2007. Session topics include Trends in Wireless and Portable Assistive Technology and Commercialization: From Research to Market Reality. Participants will have the opportunity to network with venture capitalists, public and private grant makers, and public policymakers as they examine ways to establish R&D priorities, shape the market, increase product demand, and monetize innovation. There will also be a Technology Expo.
APPAM 29th Annual Research Conference
The 2007 Fall Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) will occur in Washington, DC, from November 8-10, 2007. The theme of the conference is “What Else Shapes Public Policy Analysis and Management?”. The conference generally has several speakers on a variety of disability policy topics.
International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence (ICADI)
The International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence (ICADI) , February 20-23, 2008, St. Petersburg, Florida, will focus on approaches to support people as they age in maintaining independence in daily living at home, at work and in the community. As people age, independence can be maintained by use of assistive technology, by modifying homes, workplaces and environments and by selecting products that follow universal design principles. Each of these is important to aging well and will be addressed in seven ICADI tracks by an international cadre of presenters representing research and development, policy, practice and services, business, and consumer perspectives. Researchers from the Wireless RERC will present their findings at various sessions at ICADI. Early registration ends November 30, 2007.
For further information on items summarized in this report, or if you have items of interest that you would like included in future editions, please contact the issue editor, Lynzee Head, MS, Wireless RERC Operations Manager [lynzee_head@shepherd.org] or Paul M.A. Baker, Ph.D., AICP, CACP Director of Research [paul.baker@cacp.gatech.edu].
RERC Announces Date for its State of Technology Conference
Wireless Emergency Communications State of the Technology Conference
