Wireless technologies present tremendous opportunities to benefit all Americans, including those with disabilities. At the FCC, we are excited about these possibilities for innovative communications services, applications and devices. We want to better understand how such technologies can bring more access to more people, and how the FCC can help ensure new technologies as inclusive as possible.
On Thursday, May 13th, the Commission will be exploring these issues during a workshop called “Expanding Disability Access with Wireless Technologies.” I hope that everyone who is interested will join us in the Commission Meeting Room or via the web from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If that time doesn’t work for you, the workshop will also be available online afterwards.
The first panel will focus on current access challenges. We will be discussing mobile communications access issues facing people with disabilities and disparities in technology access. During that session, we will be asking our panelists to give us their thoughts on questions such as:
Our second panel will explore technology trends. During this session we will discuss ways in which new technologies can offer opportunities to overcome challenges in access to mobile communications. We will be looking at issues such as:
We will also have several technology demonstrations so that people can experience examples of advanced mobile communications devices that are designed to provide access to people with disabilities.
Click here for more information on the upcoming workshop.