Telecommunications Industry

Association Presentation:

DevelopingStandardsforAccessibility

November6,2013

TIA Government Affairs

BrianScarpelliSr.Manager,GovernmentAffairs+1‐703‐907‐7714bscarpelli@tiaonline.orghttp://www.tiaonline.org/policy/accessibility

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Agenda￭ Introductions￭ TR‐41’sNewNameandIncreasedFocusonAccessibility

￭ TR‐41andFCCCollaboration￭ BriefReviewofTR‐41AccessibilityRelatedStandards TIA‐504 ANSI/TIA‐1083‐A ANSI/TIA‐4965 ANSI/TIA‐4953

￭ QuestionsandDiscussion￭ Adjournment

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About the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

￭ Representsover500informationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)companies

￭ ActivitiesInclude: Technologyandstandardsdevelopment Policyandadvocacyleadership Networking Businessopportunitydevelopment Accesstocuttingedgemarketintelligence Sustainabilitypractices U.S.andinternationalAdvocacyandLobbying IndustryTradeEvents …andmuchmore

￭ AmericanNationalStandards(ANSI)accreditedstandardsdevelopmentorganizationwith11engineeringcommitteesand12internationaladvisorygroups

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TIA’s Accessibility Mission￭ Encouragecollaborationamongstakeholders

Developmentofvoluntary,consensus‐basedstandards Increasetheaccessibilityoftechnologyforthosewithdisabilities

Encourageinnovation Harnesstechnologytoopenupnewcommunicationsopportunities

￭ Proactiveconsultationwiththedisabilitycommunity UnderstandtheneedsrelatedtoICTproducts Encourageaccessibilitysolutionsintomembercompanies’productdevelopmentprocesses

￭ Workwithgovernmentregulatoryagencies Developtechnicalstandardsforuseingovernmentruleswhenneeded

Encouragetheuseofvoluntary,consensus‐based,industrystandardstoaddressaccessibilityneeds

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TIA TR-41PERFORMANCE AND ACCESSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS

SteveWhitesellPresident,WhitesellConsultingLLCTIATR‐41Chair+1‐732‐751‐1079(voice)swhitesell@ieee.org

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TIA TR-41PERFORMANCE AND ACCESSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS￭ TR‐41’sNewName￭ Developandmaintainstandards:

Coveringvoluntaryrequirementsforcommunicationsproducts’performance

Addressingnewlyidentifiedperformanceissues ForreferenceinFCCregulations

￭ Strongfocusonequipmentusedforvoiceservices,integratedvoiceanddataservices,andInternetprotocol(IP)applications

￭ Intenttoincreasefocusonstandardsrelatedtocommunicationsproducts’accessibility

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TIA TR-41.3.14“Accessibility Working Group”

￭ Standardsfortelephonedevices,includinghandsets,headsets,andspeakerphones

￭ Performanceoffeaturesusedbypersonswithhearingimpairmentsandotherdisabilities

￭ Participantsfromacrosstheindustryincludingaccessibilityconsumerinterests(suchasGallaudetUniversity)

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Summary of Current TR-41 Related Accessibility Standards

￭ TIA‐504(EIARS‐504) AdoptedastheFCC68.316rules

￭ ANSI/TIA‐1083‐A Inresponsetocomplaintsofcordlesstelephones“buzzing”forsomehearingaidtele‐coils(voluntarystandard)

￭ ANSI/TIA‐4965 InresponsetooutdatedreferencesinFCC68.317

￭ ANSI/TIA‐4953 Inresponsetoamplifiedtelephoneindustryrequestforastandardformeasurementandperformanceof“highgainamplifiedtelephones”(voluntarystandard)

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TR-41 Working With The FCCExample: ANSI/TIA-631

￭ FCCreceivedcomplaintsof“voices,radiostations,andnoise”heardontelephonehandsets(early1990s) TheFCCrequestedtechnicalassistancefromTIATR‐41

￭ TR‐41foundtheissuewaspoortelephonedesignfor“RadioFrequencyImmunity” WellknowndesigncriteriaintheAT&T/WEdays Canbeamajorproblemfortelephoneusers

￭ TR‐41developedANSI/TIA‐631“RadioFrequencyImmunityRequirements”(voluntarystandard)

￭ FCChasreportedthecomplaintshavedecreaseddramaticallyandthatTIA‐631asavoluntarystandardisagreatsuccess(paraphrasedfromCatherineDeatonfromtheFCCLosAngelesfieldoffice)

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TR-41 Working With The FCCOther Examples

￭ TIAstandardsandFCCPart‐68rules UsedasthetextforFCCrules(TIA‐504) ReferencedinFCCrules(TIA‐470andTIA‐579) Addresschangesneededbasedonconsumerortelephoneequipmentindustryneeds(TIA‐4965)

￭ Inresponsetoconsumercomplaints Raiseawarenessinthetelephoneequipmentindustry Voluntarystandards(TIA‐631andTIA‐1083)

￭ Inresponsetoaccessibilitygroupsneeds Provideguidancetothetelephoneequipmentindustry

Voluntarystandards(TIA‐4953)

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FCC Part-68 Rules for“Hearing Aid Compatibility”

￭ TheFCCassociatesthephrase“hearingaidcompatibility”withbothmagnetic(t‐coil)andacoustic(volumecontrol)requirements

￭ CFRFCC68.316“Hearingaidcompatibility:

Technicalrequirements”￭ CFRFCC68.317“Hearingaidcompatibilityvolumecontrol:

technicalstandards”

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What is Telephone Hearing Aid Compatibility?

￭ AlltelephonesmanufacturedorimportedforuseintheU.S.arerequiredtobehearingaidcompatible(HAC)since1988.

￭ “HAC”meansprovidingamagneticfieldthatcomplieswiththeFCC'sadoptedtechnicalstandard(TIA‐504).

￭ Improvedperformanceforhearingaidusers Thetelephone’smagneticfieldisusedbyhearingaidsequippedwithatelecoil.

Useofahearingaid’stele‐coilreducesbackgroundnoiseheardbythehearingaiduser.

Source: FCC13

CFR FCC 68.316“Hearing aid compatibility:

Technical requirements”

￭ “Atelephonehandsetishearingaidcompatibleforthepurposesofthissectionifitcomplieswiththefollowingstandard,publishedbytheTelecommunicationsIndustryAssociation,copyright1983,andreproducedbypermissionoftheTelecommunicationsIndustryAssociation:

ELECTRONICINDUSTRIESASSOCIATIONRECOMMENDEDSTANDARDRS–504MAGNETICFIELDINTENSITYCRITERIAFORTELEPHONECOMPATIBILITYWITHHEARINGAIDS”

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Telephone Volume Control

￭ Volumecontrolrequirementsaddresstheacousticoutputfromthetelephonehandsetcoupledtothemicrophoneofahearingaid,ordirectlytotheear HACmagneticcoupling telecoil(T)mode HACvolumecontrol microphone(M)modeor

usewithouthearingaid

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CFR FCC 68.317“Hearing aid compatibility volume control:

technical standards”

￭ ReferencesoutdatedTIAstandardsfor: Measurementmethods Establishingthe“normalunamplifiedlevel”

￭ ANSI/EIA–470–A–1987(AnalogTelephones)￭ ANSI/EIA/TIA–579–1991(DigitalTelephones)

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HAC Related Issues

￭ Consumercomplaintsofhearingaidtele‐coil“buzzing”fromcordlesstelephones AddressedbyANSI/TIA‐1083(voluntarystandard)

￭ Telephonedesignperformanceoften compromisedtocomplywithFCC68.317rules(“HACVolumeControl”) AddressedbyANSI/TIA‐4965whichisproposedtobethenewreferenceintheCFRFCC68.317rules

Currentrulesencouragemanufacturerstotrade‐offbetterperformancefor“meetingtherules”

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TIA-504

￭ TIA‐504HACPerformanceCategories 4.2AxialFieldIntensity 4.3RadialFieldIntensity 4.4InducedVoltageFrequencyResponse

￭ OKforstandardanalogcordedtelephones￭ Technologyadvancementsnotaddressed

Digitaltelephones Differenttestingmethods

Cordlesstelephones Potentialformagneticnoise

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ANSI/TIA-1083-AHandset Magnetic Measurement

Procedures and Performance Requirements

TonyJasionowskiPanasonic– NorthAmericaSeniorGroupManager,Accessibility201‐348‐7777(voice)Tony.Jasionowski@us.panasonic.comhttp://www.panasonic.com/about/accessibility/

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ANSI/TIA-1083-AHandset Magnetic Measurement

Procedures and Performance Requirements

￭WhyisANSI/TIA‐1083needed?

￭ Howshould/couldANSI/TIA‐1083affectFCCPart‐68rules?

￭WhatdoesANSI/TIA‐1083meantothetelephonepublic?

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Enhanced HAC Magnetic Coupling Requirements

￭ TheFCC’sHACmagneticcouplingrequirements FCC47CFR68.316(isthesameasTIA‐504) Onlyaddressesthedesiredsignalrelatedtospeechanddoesnotconsiderpossibleimpactofmagneticallycouplednoise

￭ ANSI/TIA‐1083(March2007) VoluntarystandarddevelopedbyTIATR‐41.3 Addressescomplaintsof“buzz”noiseinterferenceoftencausedbycordlesstelephones

￭ ANSI/TIA‐1083‐A(November2010) VoluntarystandardrevisedbyTIATR‐41.3 Addedrequirementsfortelephoneswithdigitalnetworkinterfaces,suchasVoIPtelephones

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ANSI/TIA-1083 and FCC Regulations￭ ANSI/TIA‐1083‐AisnotdirectlyincludedaspartoftheFCCrules(voluntarystandard)

￭ FCCcomplaintsforhearingaidtele‐coilbuzzingduetocordlesstelephoneshavedecreaseddramaticallysinceANSI/TIA‐1083waspublished

￭ FCCtookanactiveroleingettingtelephoneequipmentmanufacturer“buy‐in”tocompliancewithANSI/TIA‐1083earlyinthedevelopmentofthestandard

￭ NewregulationsarenotneededduetothesuccessoftheANSI/TIA‐1083voluntarystandard

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How ANSI/TIA-1083 Affects The Telephone Using Public

￭WhenpurchasinganewwirelinetelephonelookforthefollowinglogotoensureHACmagneticcompatibility

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ANSI/TIA-4965Receive Volume Control Requirements for

Digital and Analog Wireline Handset Terminals

￭WhyisANSI/TIA‐4965needed?

￭WhyshouldtheFCCupdatetheCFRFCC68.317rulestoreferenceTIA‐4965?

￭ HowwilladoptingTIA‐4965improvetelephonesforconsumers?

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Wireline Telephones Volume Control Requirements NOW

￭ Currently,theFCCCFR.68.317 rulesreferenceolderTIAstandards: Minimum12dBgainrelativeto“normalunamplifiedlevel” Automaticresetifgainexceeds18dB GainisspecifiedaschangeinReceiveObjectiveLoudnessRating(ROLR)levelandreferstotwooutdatedTIAstandards. NormalunamplifiedlevelmustalsomeetROLRrequirementsspecifiedinthesetwooutdatedstandards.

ROLRandassociatedtestingrequirementshavebeenreplacedbynewerTIAstandardswithanimprovedmethodofmeasuringvolumecontrolwhichisapplicabletonewertelephonehandsetdesigns

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Conversational Gain￭ Anew,morerationalandintuitivewaytomeasurevolumecontrol

￭ Thereference:Twopeopletalkingface‐to‐face,1meterapart ConversationalGain=Howloudavoiceiscomparedtoatypicalface‐to‐faceconversation

￭ 0dBconversationalgainmeansthespeechheardfromthetelephoneisthesamelevelaswouldbeheardifspeakingface‐to‐faceabout1meterapart

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Conversational GainReference Level

￭ Face‐to‐faceconversationatadistanceof1meterproducesanaveragelevelof64dBSPLateachear.

￭ Thelevelneedstobeincreasedby6dBtosoundequallyloudwhenlisteningwithonlyoneear.

￭ The0dBConversationalGainreferenceis: 64dBSPLfortwo‐earlistening(i.e.,speakerphone) 70dBSPLforone‐earlistening(i.e.,handset)

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How is Conversational Gain Measured?

￭ Usingcommerciallyavailabletestingequipment

ITU P.57 Type‐3.3 Ear SimulatorHead And TorsoSimulator (HATS)

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The Transition from ROLR to Conversational Gain

￭ Astandardunamplifiedtelephone(theWesternElectric500‐typetelephoneandequivalentmodelsbyothermanufacturers)providesabout6dBofConversationalGaineventhoughithasnovolumecontrol.

￭ ThecurrentFCCROLR‐basedrequirementforatleast12dBofgainabovethenormalunamplifiedlevelthusbecomesaminimumof18dBofConversationalGain.

￭ TherequirementtoautomaticallyresetiftheROLR‐basedgainexceeds18dBbecomes24dBofConversationalGain.

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How Conversational Gain Affects Consumers

￭ Usesamorerelevantreference 20dBgainmeanshearingspeech20dBlouderthanifspeakingface‐to‐face

￭ Abetterwaytocompareconsumerproducts Permitsavalidcomparisontothesoundlevelsproducedbydifferentdevices

￭ Telephoneequipmentvolumecontrolclaimseasiertoverify Bringsfairnesstothemarketplaceforequipmentmanufacturers

￭ Telephoneequipmentdesignsdonotneedtobe“compromised”justtomeettheoldandoutdatedrule

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TIA’s Conversational GainProposal to the FCC

￭ ANSI/TIA‐4965,ReceiveVolumeControlRequirementsforDigitalandAnalogWirelineTerminals,wasdevelopedbyTIATR‐41.3andpublishedpubliclyonOctober24,2012.

￭ October25,2012:TIAfiledaPetitionforRulemakingwiththeFCCrequestingthatitupdateoutdatedreferencestoTIAstandards(seehttp://bit.ly/10ah86B). WouldeffectivelyshiftwirelinetelephonevolumecontrolfromROLRtoConversationalGain

￭ Inmid‐March2013,theFCCgaveTIA’sPetitionaformalrulemakingnumber(CGDocketNo.13‐46).

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TIA’s Conversational GainProposal to the FCC

￭ PublicNoticeonTIA’sPetitionreleasedonJuly19,2013.

￭ CommentsweredueAugust19,2013andreplycommentsweredueSeptember9,2013.

￭ TherecordshowssupportfromtwostakeholdergroupsimpactedbyTIA’srequestandthehearingaidindustry,andnotablycontainsnooppositiontoTIA’srequestoftheCommission.

￭ HeldexpartemeetingwithrepresentativesfromFCCDisabilityRightsOfficeonOctober25,2013.

￭ AwaitingFCCaction.

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Performance Standard for Amplified Telephones

(ANSI/TIA-4953)JamesBressPresident,ASTTechnologyLabsChair,TIATR‐41.3+1‐321‐254‐8118x100(voice)jrbress@asttechlabs.comwww.asttechlabs.com

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What was the problem?

￭ Nostandardmethodtomeasureandevaluateatelephone’sacousticgainrelatedtohearinglossneeds

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Who Asked for TIA-4953?￭ TEDPA(TelecommunicationsEquipmentDistributionProgramsAssoc.) Stateprogramsthatbuyanddistributeequipmenttopeoplewithdisabilities

Collectivelythelargestpurchasersofhigh‐gainamplifiedtelephonesintheUS

￭ Amplifiedtelephonemanufacturers Managingclaimsof“gain”fromcompetitors BringsanitytotelephoneRFPrequirements

￭ Amplifiedtelephoneconsumers Needtoknowifanamplifiedtelephonewillmeettheneedsoftheirhearinglosslevel

Needtoknowifanamplifiedtelephonewillworkwellwhenusedwithahearingaid

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Who Needs an Amplified Telephone?

￭ Peoplewithvaryingdegreesofhearingloss Mild Moderate Severe

￭ Peoplewithhearingaids Telephonetohearingaidcouplingissues(microphonemode)

Magneticsignalperformancefort‐coiluse(HAC)(TIA‐4953requirestelephonestomeetTIA‐1083)

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ANSI/TIA-4953Amplified Telephone Measurement

Procedures and Performance Requirements

￭ DevelopedbyTIATR‐41.3 PublishedinMay2012 AdoptedbyANSIinAugustof2012

￭ TIA‐4953RequirementsSummary ConversationalGain ToneControl Acousticringerlevelandtone Acousticandmagneticperformanceforhearing‐aidusers

Noise,distortion,stability(nohowling),transmitlevels

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Why is Tone Control Important?

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TIA-4953 Summary

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How ANSI/TIA-4953 Affects Consumers

￭Whenpurchasinganamplifiedtelephone,consumerswillbeabletousethefollowingtomakethemostinformeddecision

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TR41’s Current Activities Related to Accessibility Standards

￭ Currentprojectsopen: ReviseANSI/TIA‐1083A:

Includewidebanddigital(VoIP) Userealspeechtestsignals

￭ PossiblenewprojectstorevisecurrentTIATR‐41standardstoaddressspecificissues: ReviseANSI/TIA‐1083‐AtoinformoftheneedtomeettherequirementsincludedinFCC68.316?

ReviseTIA‐4953(high‐gainamplifiedtelephoneswithtonecontrol): Includedigitaltelephones(VoIP) Speakerphones Mobilehandsets?

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Where Do We Go From Here?

￭ FCC,DRO,AccessBoardparticipationinTIATR‐41’sdevelopmentofvoluntarystandardsforaccessibility?

￭ IdentifyFCCaccessibilityrulesforwhichTIATR‐41coulddevelopvoluntarystandards?

￭ Inputandparticipationfromindustryaccessibilitygroups?

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Questions?

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Thank you!

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