On May 1, 2008, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a lively hearing on "Enhancing Access to Broadband Technology and Services for Persons with Disabilities." Star witnesses -- including a movie star, professional football player and Purple Heart Iraq veteran -- testified on the importance of requiring accessibility safeguards for communications and video programming and addressed the need for legislation to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind as 21st century communications shift

On March 26, 2008, COAT sent a letter to the FCC commenting on a report entitled "AT&T's Efforts to Provide High Quality Service to its Customers with Disabilities". COAT's letter addressed two areas related to disability access: video programming and customer service. Read COAT's letter.

On January 9, 2008, COAT sent a letter to the FCC on asking them to issue a Public Notice to remind cable operators about their obligations under the 1995 Cable Carriage rules to pass through video description. The letter also contained a request to update and revise its DTV web page to ensure that television viewers and distributors of digital programming know of this obligation. Read COAT's letter.

At its winter meeting held on February 20, 2008, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) passed a "Resolution to Support Equal Access to Communication Technologies by People with Disabilities in the 21st Century."  The resolution generally supports the goals of the pending legislative proposal endorsed by COAT, and specifically endorses those sections of the proposal that (1) would allow use of the Link-Up and Lifeline Assistance Programs to discount the cost of broadband services for individuals who rely on video communications over the Internet, and (2) would

On December 21, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives released a draft bill, the long-awaited “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.” This proposal is a dramatic and comprehensive step forward for consumers with disabilities.

Synopsis: (October 31, 2007) The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) applauds the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet for captioning the webcast of its October 31^st hearing on the digital television transition. Captions make video programming on the Internet accessible to millions of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. COAT noted that the action taken by the Subcommittee to caption its webcast should be a model for all public hearings and events. COAT also applauds Rep. Markey for his continuing leadership on behalf of people with disabilities.

Synopsis: (October 9, 2007) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a request by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) to limit the extension of time to six months for implementing 711 access to 911 for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service providers.

Synopsis: (October 1, 2007) The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concerning efforts to educate consumers about the transition to digital television (DTV). Widespread consumer understanding of the benefits and mechanics of the DTV transition is needed. COAT advocated for specific steps to be taken to reach the community of people with disabilities to ensure awareness about the DTV transition. In addition, COAT described the technical difficulties encountered by people with disabilities and proposed a way to address those issues. COAT offered a disability perspective on several consumer education proposals raised by the Commission in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and urged more resources be made available for the consumer education initiative.

Download or view the Comments at http://tinyurl.com/2layx7 (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6519738849).