36 CFR Part 1194 - Proposed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines NPRM - Preamble

E206 Hardware (Section-by-Section Analysis)

This is an introductory section.

E206.1 General (Section-by-Section Analysis)

This section proposes that components of ICT that are hardware, and transmit information or have a user interface, must conform to the applicable provisions of Chapter 4.

One hardware provision in the existing 508 Standards that has not been retained in the proposed rule is § 1194.23(a). This section has two parts. First, it requires telecommunications products that provide voice communication to provide a standard non-acoustic connection for a TTY unless the product includes a TTY. Second, it requires microphones to be capable of being turned on and off to allow a user to intermix speech with TTY use. Newer technologies for texting have made the requirement for a standard non-acoustic connection for a TTY obsolete. To address the use of TTYs by individuals also using speech or hearing, the Board is proposing to add section 410.6.5 (HCO and VCO Support). Proposed 410.6.5 would support real-time text functionality and address the capacity for users to intermix speech with text. See Section VI.D. (Section-by-Section Analysis – Technical Requirements – 410.6). Comments received in response the 2011 ANPRM did not object to these proposed changes.