People with disabilities could gain easier access to communicatio...
People with disabilities could gain easier access to communications technologies under the discussion draft of a bill released Friday by House Commerce Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass. The bill would extend a federal law that requires hearing aid…
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compatibility on newly manufactured and imported telephones used to provide Internet-enabled communication service. It also would ensure that telecommunications relay services would enable people with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate with anyone, not just those with speech or hearing disabilities. Another section of the draft would allow consumers with disabilities to be eligible for Universal Service Fund support. The draft would raise the number of devices required to display closed caption information. Another section of the draft would ensure continued accessibility of video programming on the Internet to people with disabilities. Multichannel video program distributors would be required to make navigational programming accessible to people who can’t read visual displays so they can make program selections. And devices that receive or display video programming would have to be accessible by people with disabilities for all functions, such as turning devices on and off, volume control and selection of programming. Buttons must be provided on remote controls providing access to these features, the draft says.