{"617586":{"#nid":"617586","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mobile Phone Accessibility Improves, But Gaps Remain, Georgia Tech Study Finds","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy Michael Pearson\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMobile phones are increasingly more accessible by people with disabilities, but significant gaps remain, according to a newly published study from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Inclusive Technologies (Wireless RERC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the study, researchers at the Wireless RERC compared 2017 model year phones capable of receiving Wireless Emergency Alert notifications \u0026mdash; a category that includes most top-tier phones \u0026mdash; \u0026nbsp;to 2015 versions and found improved accessibility across 10 of 13 features.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, researchers found that phones offered by operators under the federally subsidized Lifeline program for low-income people fell short in nearly every category when compared to phones offered through traditional wireless plans.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe results are of concern because research shows that people with disabilities are more likely to have lower incomes and may make up a significant percentage of Lifeline users, according to lead author \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/laforce\u0022\u003ESalimah LaForce\u003C\/a\u003E, senior policy analyst at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cacp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Advanced Communications Policy\u003C\/a\u003E (CACP) and project director for policy and outreach at the Wireless RERC. CACP houses the Wireless RERC.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A person without a disability can take it for granted that they can go into a wireless store and leave with a phone that has the features they want,\u0026rdquo; LaForce said. \u0026ldquo;These data show that may not be the case for people with disabilities.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, 84 percent of phones offered under traditional, or Tier One, plans offered by wireless carriers included built-in text-to-speech readers, an important feature for many people with vision disabilities. Among Lifeline phones, 26 percent of phones included that feature, according to the Wireless RERC analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlso, the study found that 17 percent of Lifeline phones examined included access to potentially lifesaving WEA alerts, compared to 84 percent of models offered through Tier One plans.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This statistic is particularly troubling because some of the nation\u0026rsquo;s populations which are most vulnerable to the effects of disasters are not receiving critical access to WEA messages,\u0026rdquo; the researchers wrote.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong other findings in the report:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ESmartphones are more likely than non-smartphones to include a broad range of accessibility features. According to the report, smartphones were more likely to include accessibility features in 20 of 24 features examined. This is of note because non-smartphones are less expensive than their display-screen oriented counterparts and sometimes preferred by people with lower incomes, older people, or people with specific disabilities for whom durability is a key concern.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ENearly six in ten phones (58 percent) lacked video calling features needed by people who primarily communicate via American Sign Language.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EAn \u0026ldquo;overwhelming percentage\u0026rdquo; of mobile phones lack good or excellent hearing aid compatibility ratings.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study included phones from the four major U.S. carriers, one prepaid carrier and five randomly selected Lifeline carriers. The report did not include assessments of individual phone models or operating systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Wireless RERC, whose primary mission is to harness wireless technology to empower people with disabilities to live independently, prepared the study for submission to the Federal Communications Commission as part of the agency\u0026rsquo;s biennial review of the Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe law, which is sometimes called the \u0026ldquo;ADA for communications,\u0026rdquo; governs access to advanced communications technologies such as voice over internet, chat, and video calling.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe report calls on FCC regulators to give extra attention to CVAA compliance among Lifeline providers to increase access to the WEA system and other accessibility features.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe full report is available on the Wireless RERC website at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/b.gatech.edu\/2RMcM42\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/b.gatech.edu\/2RMcM42\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Wireless RERC and CACP are part of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Public Policy\u003C\/a\u003E, a unit of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMobile phones are increasingly more accessible by people with disabilities, but significant gaps remain, according to a newly published study from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Inclusive Technologies (Wireless RERC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fewer accessibility features on non-smartphones and subsidized plans impact people with low incomes and disabilities."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2019-02-11 15:59:24","changed_gmt":"2019-02-12 14:43:21","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-02-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2019-02-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"617656":{"id":"617656","type":"image","title":"Mobile phone accessibility screen","body":null,"created":"1549982453","gmt_created":"2019-02-12 14:40:53","changed":"1549982453","gmt_changed":"2019-02-12 14:40:53","alt":"Screenshot of cell phone accessibility menu","file":{"fid":"235106","name":"Screenshot_20190208-115111e.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Screenshot_20190208-115111e.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Screenshot_20190208-115111e.png","mime":"image\/png","size":88517,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Screenshot_20190208-115111e.png?itok=xXJGLAsh"}}},"media_ids":["617656"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/stories\/2017\/10\/center-advanced-communications-policy-achieves-highest-score-rerc\/597221","title":"Center for Advanced Communications Policy Achieves Highest Score for RERC"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/stories\/2014\/11\/cacp-participates-fcc-accessible-wireless-emergency-communications-forum-exhibition\/341681","title":"CACP Participates in FCC\u2019s Accessible Wireless Emergency Communications Forum \u0026 Exhibition"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/stories\/2019\/1\/brad-fain-named-executive-director-center-advanced-communications-policy\/615791","title":"Brad Fain Named Executive Director of Center for Advanced Communications Policy"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"862","name":"Cell Phones"},{"id":"14782","name":"mobile phones"},{"id":"242","name":"disabilities"},{"id":"360","name":"accessibility"},{"id":"180461","name":"Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Inclusive Technologies"},{"id":"2645","name":"RERC"},{"id":"3632","name":"CACP"},{"id":"14599","name":"Center for Advanced Communications Policy"},{"id":"167078","name":"School of Public Policy"},{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"3189","name":"FCC"},{"id":"177234","name":"reports"},{"id":"167032","name":"study"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichael Pearson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmichael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-2290\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}