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

1193.35 Redundancy and selectability [Reserved]

1. Although this section is reserved, manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment are encouraged to provide redundancy such that input and output functions are available in more than one mode.

2. Alternate input and output modes should be selectable by the user.

3. Products should incorporate multiple modes for input and output functions so the user is able to select the desired mode.

a. Since there is no single interface design that accommodates all disabilities, accessibility is likely to be accomplished through various product designs which emphasize interface flexibility to maximize user configurability and multiple, alternative and redundant modalities of input and output.

b. Selectability is especially important where an accessibility feature for one group of individuals with disabilities may conflict with an accessibility feature for another. This potential problem could be solved by allowing the user to switch one of the features on and off. For example, a conflict may arise between captioning (provided for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing) and a large font size (provided for persons with low vision). The resulting caption would either be so large that it obscures the screen or need to be scrolled or displayed in segments for a very short period of time.

c. It may not be readily achievable to provide all input and output functions in a single product or to permit all functions to be selectable. For example, switching requires control mechanisms which must be accessible and it may be more practical to have multiple modes running simultaneously. Whenever possible, it is preferable for the user to be able to turn on or off a particular mode.

4. Some experiments with smart cards are showing promise for enhancing accessibility. Instead of providing additional buttons or menu items to select appropriate input and output modes, basic user information can be stored on a smart card that triggers a custom configuration. For example, insertion of a particular card can cause a device to increase the font size on a display screen or activate speech output. Another might activate a feature to increase volume output, lengthen the response time between sequential operations, or allow two keys to be pressed sequentially instead of simultaneously. This technology, which depends on the issuance of a customized card to a particular individual, would allow redundancy and selectability without adding additional controls which would complicate the operation. As more and more functions are provided by software rather than hardware, this option may be more readily achievable.

5. The increasing use of "plug-ins" allow a product to be customized to the user's needs. Plug-ins function somewhat like peripheral devices to provide accessibility and there is no fundamental problem in using plug-ins to provide access, as long as the accessibility plug-ins are provided with the product. For example, at least one computer operating system comes packaged with accessibility enhancements which a user can install if wanted. In addition, modems are typically sold with bundled software that provides the customer premises equipment functionality. A compatible screen reader program, for example, could be bundled with it. At least one software company has developed a generalized set of accessibility tools designed to be bundled with a variety of software products to provide access. As yet, such developments are not fully mature; most products are still installed by providing on-screen visual prompts, not accompanied by meaningful sounds.