IT Accessibility Review
Volume 1, Number 2
Telecommunications
Interactive Guide on Section 508 and Telecommunications
The Access Board has published an interactive guide on Section 508 and telecommunication products. The guide details standards to allow persons with hearing impairments to access these products. It includes compatibility specifications for hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices, and TTYs (devices that provide access to telephones for persons with hearing or speech impairments).
- More on Interactive Guide
Verizon launches Lobi Phone Manager Service
Verizon Communications on Tuesday launched its Lobi service that integrates regular telephone lines with Internet-based features such as voice messages available through e-mail and automatic call forwarding. These services will benefit persons with communication disabilities.
- More on Verizon Lobi Service
Telecom Appointment
Narda Jones has been appointed Chief of the Telecommunications Access Policy Division, which oversees universal service support for telecommunications.
Emergency Preparedness Award
During a ceremony at Gallaudet University, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. (TDI) nearly $1.5 million in a two-year project called Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (or the CEPIN Project). TDI will be developing model community education programs for deaf and hard of hearing consumers.
TDI will coordinate efforts by specialists in four centers throughout America in promoting emergency preparedness. According to the Department of Homeland Security; the CEPIN Project will reduce America´s vulnerability to terrorism by providing coordination and oversight of accessibility resources and services in emergency preparedness, homeland security, and public safety. The project´s nationwide goal is to empower deaf or hard of hearing individuals to work alongside their neighbors before, during, and after a crisis by preventing and minimizing damage and promoting faster recovery.
In the CEPIN Project, a National Coordinator at TDI will serve as a national resource by communicating policy developments and best practices to specialists at the four centers around the country. The network will also enable TDI to communicate information about local challenges to appropriate government officials for action. While the specialists will serve their localities, online resources will serve the rest of America.
