Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

February 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host Dr. Juan E. Gilbert, Chair of the Human-Centered Computing Division at Clemson University, as the latest speaker for the Accessibility and Innovation Speaker Series.  Dr. Gilbert, a winner of the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility, will present on “Innovation in Voting Accessibility,” and discuss Prime III, “a secure, multimodal electronic voting system developed by his lab.” The presentation will be held on March 11, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.

February 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has begun accepting nominations for the third annual Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA).  The awards are designed to “honor outstanding private and public sector ventures that advance accessibility for people with disabilities.” Nominations may be made for mainstream or assistive technologies, standards, or best practices for the following areas:

January 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the agenda for an Open Meeting to be held on February 20, 2014. The agenda includes considerations for a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address the “quality and technical compliance of closed captioning on television programming.” Additionally, the Commission will consider a Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the accuracy of caller location information provided for wireless 911 calls.  The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m.

December 2013 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released Final Rules in the Matter of Accessibility of User Interface, and Video Programming Guides and Menus [MB Docket No. 12-108] and Accessible Emergency Information and Apparatus Requirements for Emergency Information and Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 [MB Docket No. 12-107].

December 2013 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which would allow them to “partner on research into the use of modern IP technology to improve and make more accessible phone service to Americans who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing.” Research conducted under the MOU will focus on the effectiveness of current and potential uses of IP technology, with the intention of helping guide future activities of the FCC Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services Program, a service whic