Regulating terminal devices likely to feature at CRTC hearing

The lack of universal design and the absence of regulation for terminal equipment are among some of the top concerns that are likely to dominate a CRTC hearing on access to broadcasting services for persons with disabilities.The hearing, which is scheduled to take place in November, will also explore the same concerns for telecommunications.This is in spite of the commission’s long-held position that steers clear of regulating terminal equipment or the design and manufacture of communications devices for accessing broadcasting and telecommunications services.John Rae, first VP for the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians says the CRTC shies away from regulating terminal devices because it hides behind the view that market forces should decide the regulation fate.“Too much is left for the market forces to decide. We find this hands-on approach not working and we think that’s an excuse not to regulate,” he says.Other concerns include affordability of equipment for the disabled, design features, customized options, lack of customer support, and a host of complaints regarding CRTC actions towards people with disabilities. Organizations dealing with the disabled say the commission has generally failed to offer sufficient regulation and that the disabled find its processes difficult to navigate. These include issues on time frames for responding to public notices, building infrastructure, and funding for appearances.The June call for input on access broadcasting services for persons with disabilities produced comments from service providers and organizations representing people with disabilities. There are currently an estimated 4.4 million people—about 14.3% of the population—with disabilities in Canada, according to figures from 2006. The concerns of the disabled community are encapsulated in a report released by the CRTC in April. The commission however cautioned that the views in the report do not mean they are sanctioned by the federal regulator. Though most of the organizations representing the disabled say they agree with the contents of the report, they also have raised individual concerns. These touch on portrayal of the disabled in the media, close captioning and video description.Communications and broadcast distributors Rogers Communications and Bell Aliant noted in their responses to the CRTC that the issue of regulating terminal devices is likely to crop up. On its part, Rogers observed that most of the complaints it receives are about terminal devices, but the company also pointed out that the responsibility of manufacturing these equipment falls on third parties.In its brief, Bell Aliant said the discussions will likely shed further insight into regulating terminal devices. However, the company also observed that Statistics Canada reported in 2006, that the majority of people with disabilities “have all their needs met with respect to accessibility to communication services.”Additionally, Bell Aliant also said any new regulatory measures to improve the accessibility of telecommunications and broadcast services for the disabled, must be “symmetrical and competitively neutral,” taking into consideration balance between the needs of the disabled, availability of technology and the cost of its implementation as well as the impact on service providers.Below are some of the concerns as pertaining to broadcast, telecommunications, and new media.Broadcast Close captioningConcerns that the transition to HD will prove inaccessible to people with disabilitiesLack of employment of people with disabilitiesNegative portrayal of people with disabilitiesTelecommunications Lack of affordable wireless devicesNew media Lack of universal design for wireless devicesAffordabilityLack of universal standards for accessibility for most websites

Regulating terminal devices likely to feature at CRTC hearing

Broadcast | August 19, 2008

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