Access on Hold: Cell Phones and the Law

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Transcript

NARRATOR 1: The American Foundation for the Blind presents "Access on Hold: Cell Phones and the Law."

NARRATOR 2: Various teenagers and adults calling and texting on cell phones.

NARRATOR 1: Cell phones have revolutionized life for most people. From keeping in touch with family, friends, and co-workers, to calling 9-1-1 in emergency situations, to managing calendars, address books, and more.

But despite this incredible acceleration of technology, for people with vision loss, finding a cell phone that is usable is very difficult.

Tara Annis, a recent college graduate with low vision and Darren Burton, a professional working at AFB TECH who is blind, describe their experiences.

NARRATOR 2: Tara, a young woman with long blond hair, enters a cell phone store with her guide dog.

TARA: I just went in the store and like you know, I was a college student a few years ago I didn't have like a lot of money to spend on a phone.

I couldn't see the numbers so I could dial calls and that was about all. I couldn't add any numbers to the phone book or even check the battery or signal strength or any of that stuff.

NARRATOR 2: A woman in the store hands Tara a red cell phone. Then Darren, a man with wavy, light brown hair, sits in an office.

DARREN: Realistically, when a person goes into a cell phone store for the first time they're probably not going to find much at all that's available.

The problem is when you go to the store, the folks working at the stores often haven't been trained or don't know about the options that are available. I would say 99 times out of a 100 the person is given back a blank stare, "I don't know, here try this phone, this is good for blind people, it has big buttons." And the folks don't really understand what it takes to accommodate a blind person.

NARRATOR 2: A screen shot from a page on the AFB web site shows the title "Text of Section 255."

NARRATOR 1: While there is a law known as Section 255 of the telecommunications act that requires phones to be made usable for people with disabilities, the majority of cell phone manufacturers and providers are not adhering to it.

NARRATOR 2: A photo shows a variety of cell phones and personal digital assistants.

NARRATOR 1: While some phones offer limited accessibility features, the majority do not. And fully accessible phones with speech and magnification software costs much more.

NARRATOR 2: Various shots of Darren using a cell phone, and at his desk.

DARREN: But now say a person absolutely has to have a fully accessible phone that you can do texting and e-mail messages and web browsing, maybe even some GPS locating, we've got not only an expensive phone you have to buy any where between 100 and maybe 600 dollars, but the software itself. The screen reader software is 300 dollars; the screen magnifier software is up to 150 dollars. Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act requires that we have phones available that we can use; it doesn't say that we have to pay 500 hundred dollars extra.

NARRATOR 1: Not having access to all the functions and features on the cell phone can limit social connections, affect competitiveness in the workplace, and even prevent people from getting help in an emergency situation.

DARREN: Say I'm traveling with a colleague and he has his phone and he's a sighted guy and he can access all of his messages and text and e-mail on the fly and I can't. And I have to wait until I'm back at my computer five hours later, that puts me at a significant disadvantage to my colleague who I may be competing for, for a promotion next year.

NARRATOR 2: A woman walks with her guide dog and stops to talk on her cell phone. Then a man squints as he tries to see his cell phone screen. Tara speaks to a saleswoman at the cell phone store.

NARRATOR 1: With today's advanced technologies there should be no barriers to developing cell phones that comply with Section 255. And as the baby boomers age and begin to lose their sight, manufacturers will come to understand that better accessibility is necessary to be competitive in the marketplace. An understanding of the needs of people with vision loss and better training of engineers and sales staff are critical steps to achieving full compliance with the law and meeting its intention of making cell phones that work for everyone.

DARREN: I think the perfect world would be when you can go into a store and the customer service personnel would be aware of what they have and there would be more choices.

NARRATOR 1: For more information on accessible cell phones and Section 255, visit www.afb.org/cellphones.

This video was copyrighted in 2009 by the American Foundation for the Blind.

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