Regulatory

05.23.12 – The FCC has begun accepting nominations for the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA).  The awards are “designed to recognize the efforts of individuals, organizations, academics, companies and government agencies to make communication tools easier to use and more accessible to people with disabilities, and to encourage technological innovation and accessibility in communications-related areas.” Nominations are due by July 31, 2012 and can be made for various categories including education, deaf-blind solutions, video programming device solutions, ge

The next Consumer Advisory Committee Meeting is scheduled for June 15, 2012 in Washington, D.C.  At the meeting, the Committee will discuss many topics including recommendations by the Broadband Working Group concerning the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure Initiative, an initiative to create a “software and service enhancement” to the broadband infrastructure ensuring easy access to accessibility features.  Additional topics of discussion include recommendations by the Media Working Group concerning the Emergency Alert System recommendations by the Consumer Empowerment Group concernin

04.19.12 – The FCC issued an Order on Reconsideration “In the Matter of Amendment of the Review of the Emergency Alert System” [EB Docket No. 04-296] reconsidering the Commission’s rules on the use of text-to-speech (TTS) by Emergency Alert System (EAS) participants.

04.09.12 – The FCC’s Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee (VPAAC) issued a Report concerning Video Description and the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.  The report describes the chain of distribution of video descriptions including the production of video descriptions by and distribution to consumers highlighting that the rights to create video description must first be obtained befor

04.16.12 – The FCC’s Chief of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Rear Admiral USNR (Retired) James Barnett, will leave his position at the end of April to serve as Senior Vice President at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.