3.Guidelines for Compatibility With Peripheral Devices

ITMs should be compatible with peripheral devices commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve accessibility, and should comply with the following provisions, as applicable:

Hearing aid coupling

• Where a product delivers output by an audio transducer which is normally held up to the ear, a means for effective wireless coupling to hearing aids should be provided.

Connection point for external audio processing devices.

• Products providing auditory output should provide the auditory signal at a standard signal level through an industry standard connector.

External electronic access to all information and control mechanisms.

• Information needed for the operation of products (including output, alerts, icons, on-line help, and documentation) should be available in a standard electronic text format on a cross-industry standard port and all input to and control of a product should allow for real time operation by electronic text input into a cross-industry standard external port and in cross-industry standard format. The cross-industry standard port should not require manipulation of a connector by the user.

TTY (Text Telephone) connectability (telecommunications devices only)

• Products providing a function allowing voice communication and which do not themselves provide a TTY functionality should provide a standard non-acoustic connection point for TTYs. It should also be possible for the user to easily turn any microphone on and off to allow the user to intermix speech with TTY use.

TTY (Text Telephone) signal compatibility (telecommunications devices only)

• Products providing voice communication functionality, should support use of all cross-manufacturer non-proprietary standard signals used by TTYs.

Information pass through.

• ITMs should pass through cross-manufacturer, non-proprietary, industry-standard codes, translation protocols, formats or other information necessary to provide transactions in an accessible format.
• Signal compression technologies should not remove information needed for access or should restore it upon decompression.