Public Tech Notes

The Alliance for Public Technology hosted another luncheon briefing in the "Broadband Changed my Life!" campaign series on Wednesday, January 9th in the U.S. Capitol Building. The program highlighted the educational opportunities provided to rural and urban America through broadband. It featured a presentation and demonstration of PEBBLES, an innovative system that combines video conferencing technologies with simple robotics technology to allow medically fragile students confined in the hospital or at home to attend their regular classes. PEBBLES is featured in APT's recently released report, Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities.

The event also featured Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., Chair of APT's Public Policy Committee and President of The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) who discussed the strong evidence that broadband and information technology can improve education and training outcomes. His remarks were based on findings from his forthcoming report examining the impacts of IT on education.

In addition, Stephen Wooten, the second place winner of APT's nationwide "Broadband Changed My Life!" contest spoke about the educational opportunities that were opened to him through broadband technology. Wooten, who is now a sophomore at Appalachian State University, is the first in his family to attend college

The event, the contest and the report are part of APT's "Broadband Changed My Life!" campaign, designed to encourage broadband deployment and adoption in the United States and to raise awareness of the benefits of advanced broadband in today's world.

Updated Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities Now Available

The updated version of APT's recently released report, Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities, that features the PEBBLES project is now available online at http://www.apt.org/publications/reports-studies/broadband_initiatives.pdf. It is a compilation of 14 case studies and 35 shorter profiles that showcase model programs in education, health care, public safety, disability access, labor and economic development and how they have maximized the benefits of high-speed networks and services.

2008 Policy Forum and Hadden Awards Luncheon Update

Framing Broadband Policy for the Next Administration will be the theme of APT's annual policy forum on the morning of Friday, February 15th at the National Press Club. The program will feature programs from Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives & Transforming Communities and consumer experts examining telecom policy priorities and recommendations for the new Administration.

Following the forum, the Susan G. Hadden Pioneer Award will be presented to ConnectKentucky and the founders of the Children's Partnership, Wendy Lazarus and Laurie Lipper. This prestigious award is given to individuals and organizations for pioneering efforts in consumer access to information technologies and services.

2008 Membership Support

Your support is needed to keep APT going strong as the leading consumer voice on behalf of universal access to the power of information technology.

Thanks to APT's broad base of membership, 2007 was a year of notable accomplishments advocating for universal access to affordable and useable broadband networks and services. We are particularly proud of our: 2007 policy report, Achieving Universal Broadband: Policies for Stimulating Deployment and Demand; our updated case studies report, Broadband Initiatives: Enhancing Lives and Transforming Communities; and our Broadband Changed My Life! Campaign.

If you haven't already done so, you can make a membership contribution online. We also encourage you to visit APT's website to track our success and learn more about our initiatives.

TELECOM NEWS

Discussion Draft Issued for "Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act”

Release of the draft "Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act" was hailed as a dramatic and comprehensive step forward for consumers with disabilities by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT). According to COAT, the draft would amend the Communications Act – the statute that impacts the telephone and video programming industries – to add new consumer protections that will ensure people with disabilities do not get left out or left behind as telephones and television programming increasingly rely on digital and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. The proposals will allow greater numbers of people with disabilities to become independent and productive members of society, as well as to enjoy all the new electronic gadgets and devices that everyone else takes for granted.

"It's about time that people with disabilities received assurances that they will be fully included as our nation's communication technologies evolve," said APT Board member Karen Peltz Strauss. "Emerging digital and Internet-based technologies can provide people with disabilities with all kinds of wonderful opportunities for better employment and education, as well as improved citizenry, but only if these are designed to be accessible and affordable," she added.

Rosaline Crawford of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) noted that "While closed captions are required on all new television shows, very few that are also webcast are also shown with captioning. This leaves behind millions of people who rely on captioning." The draft law proposes to include this programming under the captioning mandates, and would cover new types of electronic equipment now displaying video programming.

"In addition, right now we can't even find the way to turn on captions on the new, snazzy digital television sets that everyone wants to buy," adds Crawford. "A new requirement for television manufacturers to put a captioning button on the remote control and captioning settings at the top level of on-screen menus will enable America's growing population with hearing loss to enjoy television along with their families and friends," she added.

Another provision would let deaf people – who generally use the Internet to communicate in video – receive the Lifeline and Linkup discount for their broadband service. "Video relay service users who are low income should have the same phone company subsidies as other low income people," said APT Board member Jenifer Simpson, who serves as the Senior Director of Telecommunications and Technology Policy, for the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). "These individuals aren't using traditional wireline phone services anymore," she says; "instead, they are using the only phone service – video relay – that works for them in their native language. Why should they be penalized for being sign language users?"

A related provision would authorize Universal Service funds for the distribution of specialized communications equipment needed by the 100,000 people in America who are deaf blind. Simpson adds, "With this new program, America's deaf-blind population will have the same universal phone service everyone else takes for granted!"

Another requirement contained in the draft would restore a requirement for television programs to include video description and ensure that TV devices transmit and deliver video description. Video description, used by people who are blind, is the provision of verbal descriptions of on-screen visual elements that are provided during natural pauses in dialogue. "With video description, people with vision disabilities can hear on-screen emergency warnings and also more fully participate in society through access to television programs like everyone else," says Paul Schroeder, former APT President and Vice-President of Programs and Policy at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).

AFB and other COAT organizations are also pleased to see proposals that will require on-screen text menus and TV controls to be accessible through audio outputs. Schroeder adds, "There's so much television programming we are missing because the controls are inaccessible or too difficult to use."

DTV Converter Box Coupon Program Launched

NTIA launched the converter box coupon program on January 1st by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009 and online at www.DTV2009.gov. The coupons have seen heavy demand with 1.6 million coupons ordered by over 500,000 applicants in the first 40 hours of the program. To date, they have received nearly 1.9 million coupon applications. In addition, more than 100 retailers have announced their intention to participate in the program as of December 11th and 14 converter boxes have been certified.

FCC DTV Workshops to Focus on Consumers in Rural Areas and on Tribal Lands and Consumers with Disabilities

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will hold two more Digital Television (DTV) Consumer Education Workshops. The next workshop, on January 31, 2008, will address issues related to ensuring that consumers in rural areas and on tribal lands are prepared for the DTV transition. On February 28, 2008, the FCC will host a similar workshop focused on people with disabilities. The workshops will be held at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC, and will be webcast live from the FCC's website, www.fcc.gov. For more information, please contact Pam Slipakoff at (202) 418-7705, pam.slipakoff@fcc.gov.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 17
FCC
Commission Meeting
Washington, DC
More Info

January 31
FCC
DTV Workshop: Rural Areas and Tribal Lands
Washington, DC
More Info

February 15
APT Policy Forum and Hadden Awards Luncheon
Washington, DC
More Info

February 25-27
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
Washington Policy Conference
More Info

February 28
FCC
DTV Workshop: People With Disabilities
Washington, DC
More Info