Getting on the Record with the FCC: Public Input Process How To’s

Wireless RERC Principal Investigator, Dr. Helena Mitchell, and Project Director, Salimah LaForce, presented at the 2018 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. Their presentation provided useful tips on how to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and contribute to disability stakeholder representation in the FCC’s public input process. Wireless RERC policy input through the years has had a significant impact on rules governing disability access to current and emerging technologies. Involvement in the “process” has been and will remain a critical task, one in which more disability stakeholders (individuals and organizations) should also engage. Through a more balanced accounting of people with disabilities’ experiences and expectations with current and emerging technologies, the FCC can better ensure that the accessibility provisions outlined in technology rules and regulations are broad enough to be applicable throughout this century, yet contain enough detail to sufficiently guide compliance and inclusion.