36 CFR Part 1193 Telecommunications Act (Section 255) Accessibility Guidelines - Preamble

Summary of significant issues raised by public comments in response to the NPRM Paperwork Reduction Act analysis and annual reporting burden estimate.

Comment. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) commented that the Paperwork Reduction Act would also apply to the provision of information in alternate formats or alternate modes. The calculations provided in the Board's NPRM did not address the annual reporting burden for such costs. TIA also suggested that the costs associated with training the "call-takers and information providers" should be included in the public reporting and record- keeping burden estimates under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Response. The Board agrees that the costs associated with providing information in alternate formats should be included in assessing the annual reporting burden associated with this section. The Board has revised its assessment to include such costs. However, to the extent that the costs of training are associated with the dispensing of technical assistance, the Board does not agree that those training costs should be included in the annual reporting burden assessments. Section 1193.33 requires that manufacturers (1) provide a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of the product upon request (including, as needed, alternate formats or alternate modes) and (2) provide end-user product documentation in alternate formats or alternate modes upon request. With respect to the reporting requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, only the training costs associated with responding to these requests are appropriate for inclusion in the annual reporting burden assessments.

Comment. TIA noted that the burdens associated with the application of this section will "vary widely with companies and the types of equipment they manufacture." While TIA did not provide final data concerning the estimated annual burdens, it suggested that, based on a fragmentary sampling, the Board's estimates of the number of respondents and the accessibility/compatibility feature description and caller referral were too low. TIA agreed that the Board's estimate of five minutes for average response time was appropriate, but commented that communicating with persons with disabilities, particularly in such alternate media as TTY, may require a longer call duration. TIA questioned the Board's estimates with respect to a contact point, citing the disparity between the Board's estimates for requests for a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of the product and the provision of a name and phone number for a contact point to request additional information. TIA also questioned the Board's estimate for the burden associated with providing the contact information noting that five seconds is barely sufficient to complete the mutual introduction of consumer caller and manufacturing employee responder.

Response. The Board agrees that the burdens associated with the application of section 1193.33 will vary with companies and types of equipment. This is true not only because of the varying complexity of the products covered by these guidelines, but also because of the application of the concept of readily achievable. As more fully discussed in the Section-by- Section analysis above, manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment are required to comply with section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to the extent that it is "readily achievable," which means that it is "easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense." Readily achievable assessments will necessarily require a case by case determination based on the size and resources of manufacturers. Because actual data concerning manufacturers' future costs and resources is not available at this time, the figures provided in the annual reporting burden estimates may be high depending on the readily achievable determinations made by each manufacturer. The Board has revised its estimates of the manufacturers of telecommunication products covered by these guidelines to reflect the estimated number of manufacturers assessed in the 1992 U.S. Census; Survey of Manufacturers. That number totals 479 manufacturers.

With respect to the issue of the difference between the Board's initial assessment of the anticipated number of calls requesting a description of accessibility and compatibility features and the anticipated number of responses per manufacturer to provide a contact point, the disparity is attributable to the fact that not all purchasers of products will request the description of features, whereas all products must contain contact point information. The estimate of five seconds is based on the Board's assessment that it will only take a negligible amount of time to include the contact information in its product literature. The annual reporting requirements do not apply to the technical assistance rendered in contacting the manufacturer at the number or address provided.