NCTA is in agreement with a consensus (CD...

disabled consumers should be applied, said an ex parte letter at the FCC (http://bit.ly/19XB1B3). The groups have agreed that Section 205 of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) -- which covers accessibility of program guides -- should apply to set-top boxes supplied by multichannel video programming distributors, while Section 204 -- which requires user interfaces to be accessible -- would apply to non-MVPD devices sold at retail, said the letter. “MVPDs must make an accessible solution available to eligible customers who request one, but the solution can be of the MVPD’s choosing,” said the letter. “This is in stark contrast to how AFB and ACB read the requirements of Section 204, in which manufacturers must make equipment of the customer’s choosing accessible unless it is not achievable to do so.” NCTA, AFB and AFB -- CEA is not involved -- have also reached an agreement on how consumers seeking accessible devices should be required to prove their eligibility for such devices to MVPDs. Though the consumer groups had previously opposed industry efforts to require proof of disabilities (CD Sept 6 p14), AFB, ACB and NCTA now agree that the FCC should “permit, but not require MVPDs to establish eligibility criteria for customers requesting audibly accessible onscreen text menus or guides.” If an MVPD does set up requirements, they have to be “reasonable,” said the ex parte, which could include documentation from doctors, social workers or other service providers with direct knowledge of the disability or proof of participation in a nationally established program for the visually impaired, said the letter. Visually impaired consumers would only need proof of eligibility when “the accessible solution would not be covered under their existing level of service and equipment,” said the letter.