Orders on Communications for the Deaf, Blind Dominate FCC May Meeting Agenda
The FCC will consider an order and Further NPRM at its May 21 meeting that would extend the iCanConnect-National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program and propose to make it permanent, said a notice released by the agency Thursday. The program provides…
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up to $10 million annually from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund to support programs that distribute communications equipment to low-income people who are deaf-blind. The program is to expire in June unless extended, an FCC spokesman said Thursday. The order extends the program for an additional year, or until it's made permanent. It provides braille devices, computers, mobile devices, phones and signalers, according to a fact sheet on the program. ICanConnect grew out of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. Also on the agenda is a report and order and further NPRM that would extend accessibility rules for emergency alerts to “second screens,” including tablets, smartphones and laptops. Under the order, tonal emergency alerts for the blind sent out by broadcasters would be available for those watching TV on a second screen so they can hear what sighted people can see, a spokesman said. The NPRM looks at implementation issues including how remote controls can allow people to switch easily between screens.