July 14, 1999

                         
                         Press Statement
                                of
                     Commissioner Susan Ness


     Re:  In the Matter of Implementation of Sections 255 and 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act
     of 1934, as enacted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996; Access to Telecommunications
     Service, Telecommunications Equipment, and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons
     with Disabilities

For the nondisabled, it takes little effort to dial a telephone number on a telephone touchpad; scroll
through an automatic voice response system to check your bank account balance; leave a simple
voicemail message on a colleague's or friend's answering machine; or even to scan a mobile phone's
visual display to ascertain who is calling you or whether you dialed the correct telephone number. 
Unfortunately, in this day and age, the same cannot be said for people who are disabled.  Accessing
telecommunications equipment or services to perform these seemingly routine tasks that most of us
take for granted is a frustrating exercise at best and potentially a life-threatening barrier at worst for
people who are disabled.

In this respect, as in others, passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 marks a new beginning. 
Section 255 requires telecommunications equipment and services to be made accessible to the
disability community, and today we adopt implementing rules to fulfill Congress' intent.  

These accessibility rules could not have been adopted at a better time.  We are in the midst of a
revolution that is reshaping not only telecommunications but our economy and society as well.  The
timing of this ruling is fortuitous because these accessibility rules will apply to the next generation
data networks that are on the drawing boards today.  If accessibility can be designed in from the "get-
go," it will be easier and more cost effective than trying, later in the process, to make compensating
or retrofitting adjustments.  

Related to the design of the next generation data networks are the individual telecommunications
products and services that will communicate with and provide services using those data networks. 
In concept, our action today adopts the universal design or the so-called "product approach," rather
than the "product line" approach, to making telecommunications products and services accessible. 
The goal is to ensure that as many products as possible will be accessible, if readily achievable.  

I have been delighted by the cooperation we have seen between the disability community and the
manufacturers and service providers to reach a common understanding.  The key insight on which
widespread agreement has been achieved is that manufacturers and service providers must consider
accessibility concerns in designing all products and services, not just relegate such considerations to
a narrow subset of models or services, even if ultimately a particular accessibility feature cannot
practically be incorporated in any given product or service.  This fundamental change in the mindset
of manufacturers and service providers will open product and service design to new and exciting
possibilities.

The benefits to the disability community will be substantial.  But just as with curb cuts, closed
captioning, and volume controls on pay phones, the nondisabled will benefit too.  Indeed, in
examining one manufacturer's Section 255 offerings during the CTIA convention, I was struck by the
utility of a mobile phone with the microphone suspended around the neck.  This "hands-free" unit
would be ideal for many of us, disabled or not.  And now we can reasonably expect that the future
will be brightened by many other similar examples, with products and services competing on the basis
of their accessibility features.

Moreover, the nondisabled will benefit in other ways as well.  Metcalfe teaches that the value of a
network is directly related to the number of users.  Making telecommunications accessible will
facilitate access by the estimated 54 million people who are disabled, thereby increasing the value of
the network for everyone -- disabled and nondisabled alike.

I want to thank the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board ("the Access
Board"), the disability community, the manufacturers, the service providers, and our own staff for all
the hard work that has culminated in this order.