Federal / Regulatory

June 2013 — Wireless RERC principal investigator, Dr. Helena Mitchell, presented 9-1-1 & Alert Trends for People with Disabilities at the National Emergency Number Associations’ (NENA) annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. NENA’s educational tracks, among other things, addressed NG911, accessibility, text-to-911, public outreach, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). NENA hosted thousands of public safety

On June 13, 2013, Wireless RERC researchers Ben Lippincott and Salimah LaForce presented an overview of the Wireless RERC to industry representatives at a webinar hosted by CTIA's Accessibility Outreach Initiative (AOI).   Also discussed were services and other collaborative opportunities the RERC has available to offer CTIA member companies. Attendees included representatives from companies such as Verizon,

On May 21, 2013, Wireless RERC researcher, John Morris, gave a presentation of Wireless Technology Use and Disability: Results from the Survey of User Needs at CTIA's Wirless 2013 Accessibility Outreach Initiative (AOI).  John, along with other disability and consumer advocacy experts, provided a roundtable discussion on wireless accessibility and consumer needs to industry and federal regulatory professionals.  Below is a PDF of

The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies hosted a workshop to examine current knowledge and research on geotargeted disaster alerts and warnings on February 21-22, 2013 in Washington, D.C.  The workshop was organized by the Committee on Geotargeted Disaster Alerts and Warnings, which is charged with examining current knowledge and research to improve the effectiveness of alerts and warnings with greater

On September 6-7, the FCC hosted a free workshop for developers, “Developing with Accessibility" (DevAcc), at its headquarters in Washington, DC.  Jim Mueller, Wireless RERC project director, demonstrated "BrailleTouch" and "ReadMore," two of the apps being developed by the RERC's App Factory. 

The purpose of DevAcc was to promote the development of accessible apps on various mobile platforms.

Ed Price, co-director on the Wireless RERC’s App Factory project was recently featured on NPR’s Marketplace discussing with John Moe, host of Marketplace’s Tech Report, Verizon’s recent testing of a text-to-911 system in Durham, NC.   During the radio segment Ed details some of the issues the text-to-911 solution faces, like how the 911 center currently does not know the exact location of the caller.  However

Georgia Tech’s Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), in collaboration with the Wireless RERC, submitted comments to the Public Notice, Request for Comment on the Commission’s Policies and Practices to Ensure Compliance with Sections 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [CG Docket No. 10-162].  Section 504 requires that federal agencies make their programs and activities accessible

Georgia Tech’s Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), in collaboration with the Wireless RERC, submitted comments to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) In the Matter of Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System [15-94]; Wireless Emergency Alerts [PS Docket No. 15-91].  The proposed changes in the NPRM are intended to strengthen the