Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines for Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment
AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
ACTION: Notice of appointment of advisory committee members and notice of first meeting.
SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is announcing the appointment of members to its Telecommunications Access Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee will make recommendations to the Access Board on accessibility guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment. These recommendations will be used by the Access Board to develop accessibility guidelines under section 255 (e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Com mittee is composed of representatives of manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment; organizations representing the access needs of individuals with disabilities; telecommunications providers and customers; and other per sons affected by the guidelines. This notice also announces the time and place of the first Committee meeting, which will be open to the public.
DATES: The first meeting of the Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, 1996 through Friday, June 14, 1996, beginning at 9:30 a.m. each day. Decisions with respect to future meetings will be made at the first meeting and from time to time thereaf ter. Notices of future meetings will be published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: The first meeting of the Committee will be held at the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association offices, 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Persons attending the meetings are strongly encouraged to use public transportation s ince parking is extremely limited. The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association offices are located north of the Grosvenor Metro subway station. Persons who must drive should call Dennis Cannon at the Access Board. The facility is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening systems and real time transcription will be available. Subsequent meetings will be held at locations to be announced.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Cannon, Office of Technical and Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20004-1111. Telephone number (202) 272-5434 extens ion 35 (Voice); (202) 272-5449 (TTY). Electronic mail address: cannon@access-board.gov. This document is available in alternate formats (cassette tape, braille, large print, or computer disc) upon request.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 28, 1996, the Access Board published a notice of intent to establish an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Access Board on accessibility guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment. 61 FR 13813 (March 28, 1996). Under section 255 (e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Access Board is responsible for developing these guidelines, in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission. The notice requested nomin ations for membership on the Committee from manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment; manufacturers and developers of peripheral devices or specialized customer premises equipment commonly used by individuals with disa bilities to achieve access; organizations representing the access needs of individuals with disabilities affecting hearing, vision, movement, manipulation, speech, and interpretation of information; telecommunications providers and carriers; developers of telecommunications software; and other persons affected by these accessibility guidelines.
Over 60 nominations were submitted. For the reasons stated in the notice of intent, the Access Board has determined that establishing the Committee is necessary and in the public interest. The Access Board has appointed members to the Committee from the following organizations:
The Access Board regrets being unable to accommodate all requests for membership on the Committee. There were several factors which were important in the Access Board's decision not to add more members. In order to keep the Committee to a size that can be effective, it is necessary to limit membership. It is also desirable to have balance among members of the Committee representing different clusters of interest, such as disability organizations and the telecommunications industry. In addition, it is not essential that every concerned organization is represented, so long as every interest is represented by an appropriate organization. The Committee membership identified above provides representation for each interest affected by issues to be discusse d.
Committee meetings will be open to the public and interested persons can attend the meetings and communicate their views. Members of the public will have an opportunity to address the Committee on issues of interest to them and the Committee. Members o f groups or individuals who are not members of the Committee may also have the opportunity to participate with subcommittees of the Committee. The Access Board believes that participation of this kind can be very valuable for the advisory committee proce ss.
Additionally, all interested persons will have the opportunity to comment when the proposed accessibility guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment are issued in the Federal Register by the Access Board.
Judith E. Heumann,
Chairman, U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
[FR Doc. 96-13149 Filed 5-23-96; 8:45 am]
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