Rosenworcel Asks DAC to Take on Wireline RTT, Accessibility
FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called text telephone (TTY) “outdated” technology for the deaf and hearing impaired and said the agency will push the use of real-time text (RTT) on wireline networks. Rosenworcel, like past chairs, pledged to make disability issues a top focus. “The FCC is committed to meaningful stakeholder engagement, to ensure modern communications, accessibility gaps are both identified and addressed,” she told the Disability Advisory Committee Thursday. The virtual meeting was the first since February (see 1909240058).
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A new DAC working group will examine “feasibility and challenges” of wireline RTT, Rosenworcel said. The technology “enables a lot more conversational messaging without having to press the send button, which cannot only make communications feel more natural, but also provides public safety benefits by making it faster and easier to communicate with 911,” she said. She noted RTT is deployed nationwide by wireless providers. The FCC last looked at the issue in 2016, but “time and technology have changed,” she said.
The disabled need access to conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams after the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosenworcel said. She has asked a second new WG to focus on use of telecom relay service on videoconferencing platforms. “Relay services are generally only available for use during video conferences when the meeting audio component is available by dialing the 10-digit telephone number,” she said: “We’ve seen video conference services that do not provide a dial-in connection, and connecting to TRS only through the computer audio component presents a lot of challenges.” The subgroup will prepare a report on the challenges and make recommendations for FCC action, she said. Rosenworcel also noted an upcoming Media Bureau forum on enhancing accessibility of online video programming. “This pandemic has made clear we have to think anew about these issues,” she said.
DAC members unanimously approved a report to urge the FCC to account for problems and needs of the disabled during future national emergencies. Members said the report encourages the FCC to “continue including the disability community” in efforts to expand access to broadband. The report recommends expanding RTT and access to conferencing platforms. A second report, also OK’d unanimously, will offer a broad overview of “accessibility considerations” for emerging technologies, including autonomous vehicles, IoT, artificial intelligence and virtual and augmented reality.
“While the COVID pandemic has affected all of us and our entire world, there are … challenges that are unique to those with disabilities,” said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Reports describe “how the pandemic has negatively impacted daily life and access to healthcare for people with disabilities, resulting in higher death rates for those with developmental disorders and intellectual disabilities,” he said. Other challenges include the inability of the deaf to read lips under masks and problems the blind have connecting to telehealth, he said.
Commissioner Nathan Simington noted TRS use increased during the pandemic. “How the millions of Americans with hearing and speech impairments access telecommunications services and whether their experience is as close as possible to the experience of Americans without such impairments is the yardstick against which we measure our progress,” he said. TRS providers “have worked diligently to achieve functional equivalence," he said. "But there clearly remains more to do.”