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

Subpart A — General

§1193.1 Purpose.

This part provides requirements for accessibility, usability, and compatibility of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 255).

§1193.2 Scoping.

This part provides requirements for accessibility, usability, and compatibility of new products and existing products which undergo substantial change or upgrade, or for which new releases are distributed. This part does not apply to minor or insubstantial changes to existing products that do not affect functionality.

§1193.3 Definitions.

Terms used in this part shall have the specified meaning unless otherwise stated. Words, terms and phrases used in the singular include the plural, and use of the plural includes the singular.

Accessible.

Telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment which comply with the requirements of subpart C of this part.

Alternate formats.

Alternate formats may include, but are not limited to, Braille, ASCII text, large print, and audio cassette recording.

Alternate modes.

Different means of providing information to users of products including product documentation and information about the status or operation of controls. Examples of alternate modes may include, but are not limited to, voice, fax, relay service, TTY, Internet posting, captioning, text-to-speech synthesis, and video description.

Compatible.

Telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment which comply with the requirements of Subpart D.

Customer premises equipment.

Equipment employed on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications.

Manufacturer.

A manufacturer of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment that sells to the public or to vendors that sell to the public; a final assembler.

Peripheral devices.

Devices employed in connection with telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment to translate, enhance, or otherwise transform telecommunications into a form accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Product.

Telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment.

Readily achievable.

Easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.

Specialized customer premises equipment.

Equipment, employed on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications, which is commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access.

Telecommunications.

The transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

Telecommunications equipment.

Equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a carrier to provide telecommunications services, and includes software integral to such equipment (including upgrades).

Telecommunications service.

The offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used.

TTY.

An abbreviation for teletypewriter. Machinery or equipment that employs interactive text based communications through the transmission of coded signals across the standard telephone network. TTYs can include, for example, devices known as TDDs (telecommunication display devices or telecommunication devices for deaf persons) or computers with special modems. TTYs are also called text telephones.

Usable.

Means that individuals with disabilities have access to the full functionality and documentation for the product, including instructions, product information (including accessible feature information), documentation, and technical support functionally equivalent to that provided to individuals without disabilities.