GSC11_USERWORKSHOP_03

1. GSC11_USERWORKSHOP_03 Meeting the User’s Requirements Addressing Accessibility through Participation and Consensus in the Industry’s Standards Process and Compliance Efforts Timothy Jeffries, V.P. Technology & Development Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS)

2. Drivers for Including Accessibility • Manufacturers and service providers are motivated to address consumer priorities in the standards development process to ensure product and service acceptance. • The inclusion of these priorities for the accessibility of telecommunications products and services by those consumers with disabilities is a growing market driver both nationally and internationally. • Social Responsibility • On a national level, social factors such as the aging of America, and a late-disabled population resulting from military service also creates potential growth in the need for accessible products and services. • Market • There are an estimated 600 million individuals worldwide with disabilities whose use of telecommunications may be compromised by them, including those with impairments of vision, hearing, dexterity, and cognition. • Mandate • In the United States, the telecommunications industry has the responsibility to ensure disability accessibility through compliance with federal legislative and regulatory law including: • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, • Sections 255 and 251 of the Telecommunications Act, • Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act of 1988, • Telecommunications for the Disabled Act of 1982, • E9-1-1 (CC Docket 94-102), • Hearing Aid Compatibility (“HAC”) Act (CC Docket 01-309) and the • Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”). GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

3. Effective Solutions Add Value • ATIS specific accessibility activities: • AISP.4-HAC Hearing Aid Compatibility Incubator • Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Accessibility Forum • TTY Forum (Text Telephony) • Additional response and solutions around accessibility are being addressed within the • Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF), • Industry Numbering Committee (INC), • IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF), and • ATIS NGN Requirements, Roadmap, and Gap Analysis. • Within ATIS, issues are addressed and solutions are found by: • Clearly identifying stakeholders and their roles • Finding consensus through open discussion and debate • Identifying and carrying out activities, work plans or timelines in support of an acceptable solution for all involved stakeholders GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

4. Participation Results in Progress AISP.4-HAC: Hearing Aid Compatibility Incubator • The ATIS HAC Incubator was established to investigate performance between hearing aids and wireless devices and to determine methods of enhancing interoperability and usability for consumers with hearing aids in response to FCC requirements for interoperability in its revision to the HAC Act to include previously exempt devices and services. • Stakeholders include wireless device manufacturers, wireless service providers, hearing aid manufacturers, government entities, consumer advocates for those with hearing loss, trade associations, and testing laboratories. • Specific technical, educational and outreach, and regulatory activities take place in open and objective working groups comprised of experts in a particular aspect of achieving compliance with the FCC’s requirements, resulting in progress. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

5. Participation Results in Progress Technical Progress • Collaborative efforts include: • Extensive reviewand validation of the testing methodology found in the C63.19 Standard to ensure accurate and repeatable results for the testing and classification of wireless devices for RF interference and magnetic coupling ability. • Engaging in laboratory and field testing of wireless devices and their interaction with hearing aids • Review and analysis of data known on hearing aid immunity and performance upon which the Standard was based, and new data upon which revisions to the Standard should be made. • Investigation of the interaction between digital hearing aids and wireless devices operating in the low bands and at higher power than those that were operating in the United States at the time the C63.19 Standard was originally written and proposing frequency banding for RF interference based on the results. • Proposing a repeatable and mathematical based method for determining Articulation Weighting Factor (AWF) for current and future air interface technologies. • Active Participation in the standards development process by submitting recommendations to Standard revisions. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

6. Participation Results in Progress Educational and Outreach Progress • Collaborative activities include: • Development and distribution of materials to ensure consistent and clear information is available to consumers with hearing loss looking to purchase wireless devices and services compatible with their hearing aids for: • consumers, • hearing healthcare professionals (audiologists, hearing aid dispensers, physicians) and • wireless industry. • Development of clear understandable language about HAC for use in wireless device manuals orpackaging inserts. • Development of consumer recognizable methods for labeling wireless device packaging for compliant devices. • Providing expert-developed information to academic and industry news, magazine, and press outlets. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

7. Participation Results in Progress Regulatory Progress • The value of the collaborative nature of the work of the HAC Incubator has been recognized by the FCC in its decision making process in • accepting the HAC Incubator as the venue to prepare and submit a collective status report from the wireless industry to the FCC per the R&O reporting requirements, • revising requirements for manufacturers and service providers under the HAC Act, • June 2005 Order on Reconsideration • September 2005 Memorandum Opinion and Order • Adopting new standard revisionsand laboratory certification procedures. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

8. Involving Relevant Stakeholders • TTY Forum (Text Telephony) • Develops solutions in response to the requirement for a technically feasible solution for the use of TTYs through digital wireless devices and services. • Stakeholders include wireless device manufacturers, wireless service providers, emergency and relay service providers, TTY manufacturers, and consumer advocates for the users of TTY devices. • Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) Forum • Investigates and documents potential accessibility and usability solutions for voice-mail and other interactive voice response systems and services such as features that could make IVRs easier to use by people with disabilities, including interoperability with assistive devices and text communication features. • Involves consumer advocates for the disabled, government entities, telecommunications equipment manufacturers, assistive technology manufacturers, and telecommunications service providers. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

9. Allows Ongoing Address of Issues • Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF) • ATIS ESIF is the telecommunication industry’s venue for the development of standards for the technical and operational interconnection of emergency services (E9-1-1) to ensure that services are available to everyone in all situations. • Interoperability at the Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) • Resolution of technical and/or operational issues related to the interconnection of wireline, wireless, cable, satellites, Internet and emergency services networks. • The accessibility of E9-1-1 services to those with disabilities now and in the future is addressed in an ongoing manner among the telecom industry, public safety and government entities, and other stakeholders. • Work is underway through the Next Generation Emergency Services (NGES) Subcommittee to ensure continued interoperability and accessibility to emergency services impacted by NGN. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

10. Allows Ongoing Address of Issues • Industry Numbering Committee (INC) • ATIS INC is an open forum to address and resolve industry-wide issues associated with the planning, administration, allocation, assignment and use of North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbering resources and related dialing considerations for public telecommunications within the NANP area. • Accessibility related issues addressed include numbering provision and allocation due to regulatory requirements for • Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), including • Video relay • IP based captioning services. • IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) • ATIS IIF develops standards and related technical activities that enable the interoperability, interconnection and implementation of IPTV systems and services, including video on demand and interactive TV services. • The IIF architecture requirements developed include provisions for the function of closed captioning to meet accessibility requirements and user expectations. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

11. Preparation for the Next Generation • Accessibility will effect the development of NGN and Next Generation services. • Unified User Profile • As noted in the ATIS NGN Framework Part III: Standards Gap Analysis, the development of a consistent, unified user profile that encompasses communication services and web services provided by a range of service providers. • A unified user profile may allow users to engage and use a variety of equipment and services in a variety of locations without having to transfer settings, preferences and other potential detriments to use. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications

12. Creating Future Opportunities • By creating a venue in which consensus is possible and solutions are developed • Industry and non-Industry stakeholders are more likely to enter into dialogue before government involvement or mandate for future issues. • Common understanding of user and industry requirements is built among stakeholders. • Appreciation and understanding of the standards process is developed and standards are seen as a positive viable solution. • Awareness of accessibility and impacts to it are realized and through proactive standards work can be solved to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. GSC: Standardization Advancing Global Communications