Volume 16, No. 2, Spring 2008	Previous Issues Subscribe to AT Messenger Download PDF Viewer
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21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act

Jenifer Simpson,Senior Director
Telecommunications and Technology Policy Initiatives
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

In December 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives released a draft bill, the “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.” Publication of this draft legislation kicked off much action by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), the disability coalition behind the agenda in this draft bill. As a comprehensive proposal covering telephone services—wire-line, wireless, and Internet—as well as television distributed over the Internet, in addition to some universal service funds initiatives, the provisions have elicited considerable interest by industry and consumer stakeholders.

Since the draft bill was published, COAT's steering committee has met with numerous industry representatives who would be affected by the legislation, were it enacted. The intent of these meetings was to brief the companies on the intent of the legislation and to uncover concerns and issues any companies might have on specific provisions. These were not negotiation meetings. These industry groups included: AT&T, Verizon, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), and the U.S. Telecommunications Association (USTelecom). Upcoming meetings will include the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and likely the National Cable & Television Association (NCTA) as well as other entities impacted by the video programming provisions in the proposal. Along the way COAT has garnished the support of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners for the overall legislation and, specifically, a resolution supporting the provisions that would impact the Universal Service Funds. See their resolution at http://www.aapd.com/News/tech/downloads/NARUCres.doc.

Also, since December, member representatives of COAT have met with congressional representatives to brief them on the proposal and to ask for their support of the measure. COAT encourages concerned individuals with disabilities to contact members of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet to ask them for support of the measure and to co-sponsor it when introduced. We expect to have a hearing on the issues and a bill later this spring.

For further information, please contact Jenifer Simpson at AAPD, email aapdjenifer@aol.com. AAPD is a founding and steering committee member of the COAT coalition.

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