Wireless Carriers Working with Blind to Meet Their Needs, CTIA Says

For those with low vision “wireless handsets become mobile magnifiers by utilizing built-in camera and enhanced screen features, such as zoom and font-size, or available as third party applications with enhanced features,” CTIA said. For the blind, “mobile handsets with text-to-speech features or Braille display compatibility and global positioning system technology can read aloud on-screen maps and points of interest for orientation and bus and train arrival and departure information for efficiency and safety.”

The industry is moving in the right direction and regulatory mandates are not needed, CTIA said. “As wireless handsets get ’smarter’, wireless adoption increases and the cost of handsets and service plans continue to decline, the Commission should recognize that the wireless industry is continuously making strides to provide increased accessibility for the blind, deaf-blind and low vision communities,” the group said. “CTIA and its member companies remain committed to meeting the needs of the accessibility community, and encourage the Commission to retain regulatory approaches that properly balance the need for flexibility in responding quickly to technological and market changes with voluntary initiatives and collaborations.” New regulation is not needed, CTIA said: The FCC should “proceed cautiously with regard to any proposed regulatory mandates that may hinder development of new features that would benefit the blind, deaf-blind, and low vision communities.”

TIA noted in its comments that the American Foundation for the Blind published a “sweet 16” list of phone accessibility features sought by customers with visual impairments. “TIA members have responded to this list and, as a result, there is a wide variety of mobile phones available through nationwide carriers that include these features,” the group said. According to an August 2010 study of the Wireless Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, 93 percent of blind and low vision persons have a phone and 68 percent say they're satisfied with the device. “Industry is consistently striving to meet consumer needs to increase the percentage of satisfied users,” TIA said.

AT&T said it has established a National Call Center for Customers with Disabilities where customer service representatives can arrange for bills in an alternate format, such as Braille or large print, respond to questions on AT&T’s free voice dial program or Code Factory accessibility software available from AT&T, or assist customers in finding the equipment, accessories, features, and service plans that fit their needs. AT&T said it also helped develop the Commercial Mobile Alert System “which took into account the needs of persons with disabilities” including mobile phones with alert tones/cadences and vibration cadences that allow blind customers to know when an emergency alert is received. “These and numerous other steps occurring in the wireless marketplace demonstrate the increased accessibility for persons who are blind, deaf-blind or have low vision,” the carrier said. “It is also important to keep in mind that people with disabilities often benefit from innovations that are not geared specifically to accessibility. Enhanced battery life, increased transmission speeds, and increased processing power have made it possible to use technologies that benefit people with disabilities, including the ability to work effectively with screen readers or provide larger displays with greater contrast."

"Sprint has worked and continues to work with handset manufacturers and software developers to ensure that Sprint’s blind and visually-impaired customers have options when purchasing a new handset for use on Sprint’s CDMA and iDEN networks,” Sprint said. “As the trend toward ‘open’ operating systems like Android increases, Sprint expects to see even more innovative accessibility features and capabilities that will benefit wireless consumers that are blind, deaf-blind or have low vision.”