Addressing Technology Evolution and Accessibility

1
Addressing Technology Evolution and Accessibility

• Disability Subcommittee
• FCC Technological Advisory CouncilSept 18,
  2002

2
Objective

• To explore the issues around technology evolution
  and its impact on people with disabilities and
  those who are older.
• Not to create solutions (though any proposed
  externally will be listed)
• Rather to explore the issues and how they relate
  to
• Facilitating safe technical innovation
• Better methods for handling legacy
• FCCs roles and options

3
The Problem

• People with disabilities use special assistive
  technologies (AT) in order to access and use
  telecommunication technologies
• These couple to standard telecommunication
  technologies in various ways
• Standard ways
• RJ11 phone jack
• Special ways to current design or common features
  
• T-coil,
• Headphone jack TTY coupling,
• Data over voice line using unique FSK tones

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Problem contd

• Evolving technologies may cause the connection
  methods used by AT to disappear or no longer
  work.
• The connection point physically disappears with
  New Tech
• e.g. Telephone speaker coils
• e.g. RJ 11 as we move to VoIP
• If design of new technologies does not take the
  AT into account the new technologies may not
  work with existing AT
• New Tech interferes with existing AT
• e.g. Digital cell and Hearing aids
• New Tech is introduced that does not accommodate
  AT signals or format
• e.g. TTY and Voice Compression/Transmission
  (Digital Wireless) (VoIP??)
• e.g. DVR and Captions (One of the two DVR
  formats)
• e.g. Satellite

5
Solution Strategies

• Change the New Mainstream Technology to work with
  AT
• a) Change design of the Mainstream Technology so
  it works with the AT
• Lower EM from Cell Phone
• Fix Network to carry TTY Tones
• Fix DVR to capture and record captionsl
• b) Create patches / adapters that allow the New
  Mainstream Tech to work with AT
• Network gateways
• Special Cables (smart cables)
• Neck Loops
• Change the technology Used by People with
  Disabilities
• a) Migrate people with disabilities to new
  Mainstream Technology whenit provides the same
  functionality (wont or cant always happen)
• For example
• ??? Instead of hearing aids?
• ??? Instead of captions??
• ??? instead of TTY
• b) Migrate people with disabilities to new AT to
  access New Mainstream Technology
• (in IT area -- Create a new kind of screen
  reader)
• Create a NEW KIND of Hearing Aid ??
• Create a NEW KIND of TTY ??

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Solutions (contd)

• Each approach has constraints
• Each puts the burden on different player(s)
• Some common elements

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Proposed Plan is to Examine via Two Case Studies
/ Problems

• Cases
• Hearing aid Compatibility with Phones
• VOIP
• Objective
• To explore the issues around technology evolution
  and its impact on people with disabilities and
  those who are older.
• Not to create solutions (though any proposed
  externally will be listed)
• Rather to explore the issues and how they relate
  to
• Facilitating safe technical innovation
• Better methods for handling legacy
• FCCs roles and options

8
Some Initial Observations and Complications

• Solutions often reside in multiple locations /
  companies / industry sectors. Creates
  coordination, timing, and accountability issues.
• e.g. Lucent TTY solution involves Handset
  manufacturers and Carriers
• Part of solution may reside inside of regulated
  industry and part outside (or inside of another
  agency). Creates different coordination, timing,
  and accountability issues.
• e.g. Handset manufacturers (FCC) and Hearing Aids
  (in FDA scope ?)
• Network solutions that can use a single gateway
  (or set of them) are more popular with carriers
  than ones that require implementation at every
  PSTN / New-Tech interface.
• e.g. a gateway at each interface between PSTN and
  wireless or VoIP network.
• Functional Equivalence of Alternatives must be
  kept in mind
• Email or instant messaging not same as TTY
  (Voicemail or voice messaging not the same as
  conversation)

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More Initial Observations and Complications

• Solutions must work under network stress
  (emergencies, disasters)
• Real world stress situations are difficult to
  simulate.
• Installed base is a big problem (with Mainstream
  and Assistive Tech)
• All solutions must work with all combinations of
  new and old technology unless there is national
  move to swap all old for new or it is reasonable
  to just cut off users of old technology and
  require them to buy new. This latter assumes
  cost of new is low and new is available.
  (biggest cost for swap is locating tech? And
  training?)
• Assistive Tech lifetime is longer than mainstream
  CPE
• Often lower income, AT is more expensive, paid
  for by third party, or all 3
• Must be a transition path from today to tomorrow
• Compatibility with old and new technologies?
• Solutions should not just postpone the problem.
• Solutions must work (guaranteed) over time
• Phone and TTY systems are guaranteed. If another
  system is proposed to replace a system with
  guaranteed support will support for it be
  guaranteed?
• Phone systems all interoperate as do TTYs over
  phone systems. Will future text conversation
  systems all interoperate and work wherever
  voice works?

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Observations (contd)

• There seems to be some themes here
• spatial problems (location)
• temporal problems (indep timelines)
• logistical problems (coordinating)
• conditional problems (regulated or not)

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QUESTIONS

• Are there underlying principles?
• Are there basic strategies or models for
  addressing this class of problem?
• Does a solution scale (scale in what dimension)?
• How do we think about functional equivalence /
  flexibility / innovation?
• should we encourage flexibility at the expense
  of equiv?
• (this needs to be parsed and examined)
• Should backwards compatibility be thought of as a
  patch (part of the transition) or a product
  (with a market) or a mandate?
• Regarding swap is there a mechanism to find
  out where the old tech resides?

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QUESTIONS (contd)

• How cheap can AT become? How does this impact
  lifetime
• Are there non-regulatory strategies or
  approaches?
• If regulation is needed, are there approaches
  that
• Minimize industry load?
• Maximize innovative freedom?
• Maximize mainstream integration?
• Minimize transition problems, cost, pain?
• Was it / should it have been possible to predict
  these problems?

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If possible to predict..

• What are the next areas these will appear in?
• Is it possible to avoid them? How? Do What?
• Is it possible to make them easier to solve if
  action taken earlier?
• Can R D by Industry or others help?
• What action could FCC take to help?
• Is regulatory necessary?
• Are there effective non-regulatory approaches or
  actions?