FCC White Paper to Outline Broadband Adoption for Disabled People
The FCC will issue a white paper following release of the National Broadband Plan urging the expansion of broadband accessibility and adoption among disabled people, commission members said during a Silicon Flatirons event in Washington. A $10 million dollar Universal Service Fund allowance, changes to hearing aid compatibility rules and lowering the cost of assistive devices are some of the major recommendations, the commission said. “Few populations stand to benefit more from broadband than the millions of Americans with disabilities,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “Broadband allows people with disabilities to live independent lives in their communities of choice.”
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The National Broadband Plan accessibility white paper will offer an analysis of the plan’s recommendations and describe the barriers faced by broadband users with disabilities, said Elizabeth Lyle, broadband initiative policy advisor. It also will “look at the ongoing efforts in innovations from industry and the collaborative efforts” and “how they've shaped our recommendations.” The commission proposes the creation of a broadband accessibility working group that will work to “lower the cost of assistive technologies and ensure they can keep pace with and be interoperable with the latest technologies.” Lyle also said the disabled will benefit from recommendations already in the broadband plan, like the expansion of the USF Lifeline and Link-Up telephone support program to include broadband and the creation of a digital literacy program.
The plan has some recommendations for the FCC to seek more authority from Congress, Lyle said. It suggests that the commission should be authorized to use USF “to provide competitively-based funding to develop innovative devices, components and software applications that promote accessibility,” Lyle said. The proposed cap is $10 million per year. The plan also urges the FCC to seek permission from Congress to amend the Section 255 rule to require service providers and manufacturers to make their products accessible to people with disabilities. The commission also should have the authority to extend its hearing aid compatibility rules “to all types of devices that provide voice communication."
Some companies were commended for their advances that better serve disabled people who access broadband. Genachowski praised Google for developing technology that allows voice recognition software to be used to capture videos on YouTube. He also recognized AT&T and AOL for providing real time instant messaging relay services.
Verizon Internet and Technology Assistant Vice President Link Hoewing said the FCC’s plan is commendable. “More capacity means more capability for people with disabilities,” he said. To improve mobile use for the disabled, Verizon supplied a text reader-enabled mobile phone, he said. “I've seen hearing impaired people use high-capacity two-way video systems to communicate and many experience for the first time in their lives what it can mean to communicate with others in a way they know best, through signing.” He also stressed the importance of more abundant spectrum availability. It “will help to deploy 4G mobile technologies out to more people more quickly."
Open platforms allow the disabled to be enabled to the fullest extent, said Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf. They enable others to “make use of systems and to bring new ideas to them.”