Public Policy/Legislative Trends: Telecommunications Access for People with Disabilities

Abstract

History has demonstrated that the marketplace alone is not enough to ensure that telecommunications equipment and services are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. Public policy changes and legislative mandates are needed to make sure that the telephone system of today and the information superhighway of tomorrow is usable by all Americans.

A survey of public policy and legislation shows that, over the years, responsibility for telecommunications access has moved from the disabled individual to the public at large to the manufacturers of equipment and, finally, to the providers of telecommunications services. The access solution has moved away from requiring the individual to purchase additional adaptive equipment to designing in equipment and network access from the beginning (universal design).

The key to equal access will be the incorporation of universal design requirements for telecommunications equipment and services into legislation.