Communications Law Bulletin July/August 2005 Part 2

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Disability Issues Dominate FCC’s July Open Meeting

Marking the 15^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26^th, the FCC recently established three new rules that expand its interpretation of "functionally equivalent" access to the nation’s telecommunications system. The FCC also initiated a review of its closed captioning rules by seeking comment about various aspects of closed captioning.

First, the FCC developed speed of answer requirements for Video Relay Service ("VRS"). VRS is a form of telecommunications relay service ("TRS") that enables an individual with a hearing or speech disability to communicate by telephone or other device through the telephone system with a person without such a disability. Instead of relying on TTY or text-based calls, however, VRS allows communications using sign language through a communications assistant ("CA"), who