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"FCC Rules Requiring Accessible Advanced Communications Service Effective October 8, 2013," Davis Wright Tremaine Seminar, Washington, D.C.

By  Maria T. Browne
10.02.13
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In 2010, Congress commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with its passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 ("CVAA") to ensure that 57 million Americans with disabilities have access to the innovative communications technologies of the 21st century. Recognizing that the communications marketplace has undergone a "fundamental transformation," Congress sought to make broadband enabled advanced communications services (ACS)—such as email, texts, and video conferencing—accessible to persons with disabilities. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), charged with implementing these statutory directives, adopted rules phasing in accessibility requirements for ACS over 2 years and reinvigorating existing rules governing telecommunications carriers and VoIP providers through recordkeeping obligations and heightened enforcement standards and penalties. The FCC’s performance standards apply to ACS introduced or substantially modified on or after October 8th of this year. The FCC rules extend to the services and equipment, the information necessary to use the services and equipment and the customer support for the services and equipment.

View the presentation slides.

Information covered included:

Communications accessibility laws overview

  • Background on accessibility laws relating to accessible communications
  • Review of the structure and key provisions of the CVAA and Section 255
  • Key terms definition
  • Options and routes to conformance
  • Product and service lifecycle considerations
  • Small entity and class exemptions

Covered entities, services and equipment

  • What is covered under ACS?
  • What is covered for telecommunications and VoIP?
  • Product and service information, documentation and onboarding
  • Customer support

Requirements governing design and development

  • Outreach to disabled communities
  • Performance objectives for people with disabilities

Recordkeeping and reporting requirements

  • Required documentation and information
  • Additional information required for claimed exemptions and non-compliance
  • Product and service recordkeeping model
  • FCC certification process and reporting
  • Document retention policies
  • Governance models for conformance programs

Complaints

  • Process
  • Penalties
  • How to respond to a complaint

Real world implementation

  • Functionality checklists
  • Design checklists
  • Product assessments
    • Normative
    • Functional
    • Accessibility features document

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