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

Section 1193.1 Purpose (Section-by-Section Analysis)

This section describes the purpose of the guidelines which is to provide specific direction for the accessibility, usability, and compatibility of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Section 255 (b) of the Act requires that manufacturers of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment shall ensure that the equipment is designed, developed, and fabricated to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, if readily achievable. Section 255 (d) of the Act requires that whenever it is not readily achievable to make a product accessible, a manufacturer shall ensure that the equipment is compatible with existing peripheral devices or specialized customer premises equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access, if readily achievable. The requirement for the Board to issue accessibility guidelines is contained in section 255 (e).

No substantive comments were received and no changes have been made to this section in the final rule.