Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

The following summary of the provisions of the Act was provided by Eric Bridges, who is the ACB's representative on the FCC Technical Committee for issues related to the Act. Very minor modifications have been made to the formatting of his text.

What the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 Will Do for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Access to advanced communications services and equipment.

The legislation, as signed into law by the President:

Requires advanced communications equipment and services to be accessible, if achievable. If not, then equipment and services must be compatible with devices used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access, if achievable. "Achievable" is defined as reasonable effort or expense, as determined by the FCC.
Improves enforcement. The FCC must file regular reports with Congress and requires an enforcement study by the Comptroller General. It also adds recordkeeping obligations for equipment manufacturers and service providers.
Requires access to Internet services built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
Requires a clearinghouse of information on accessible products and services, and public education and outreach.

Video Description

One year after the bill becomes law, it restores FCC rules requiring 4 hours per week of video description on 9 television channels (top 4 broadcast networks and top 5 cable channels) in the top 25 most populated markets.
Two years after the bill becomes law, the FCC is required to report to Congress on video description.
After four years the bill permits the FCC to increase video description to 7 hours per week on 9 television channels.
After six years, the FCC is required to apply the video description requirements to the top 60 most populated markets (not just the top 25 most populated markets).
After nine years, the FCC is required to report to Congress on the need for additional markets to carry video description.
After 10 years, the bill permits the FCC to expand video description to 10 new markets annually to achieve 100 percent nationwide coverage.

Equipment

The legislation requires video programming owners, providers, and distributors to make emergency information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
Devices designed to receive or play back video programming, using a picture screen of any size, must be capable of delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
Devices with picture screens less than 13" must meet these requirements if achievable with reasonable effort or expense.
Devices designed to record video programming (such as DVRs) must enable the rendering or pass through of video description and emergency information, so viewers can turn the video description on/off when played back on a screen of any size.

User Interfaces on Digital Apparatus

The legislation requires devices designed to receive or play back video programming:

To make controls of built-in functions accessible to and usable by individuals who are blind or have low vision, if achievable;
To provide access to video description features through a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon designated for activating accessibility features.

Access to Video Programming Guides and Menus Provided on Navigation Devices.

Cable/satellite set-top box on-screen text menus and guides must be audibly accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, if achievable.
Devices must provide access to built-in video description features through a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon designated for activating the accessibility features.

Other

The bill:

Allocates up to $10 million per year from the Interstate Relay Service Fund for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.
Establishes an Emergency Access Advisory Committee to recommend and for the FCC to adopt rules to achieve reliable and interoperable communications with future Internet-enabled emergency call centers.
Establishes a Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee to make recommendations about video description, accessible emergency information, user interfaces, and video programming guides and menus.

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