Emergency and Captioning Issues

Gallaudet's Chapel Hall with U.S. Capitol dome in background

Emergency and Captioning Issues

To: Consumer Contact List
From: Karen Peltz Strauss
Re: Consumer Contact List: Emergency and Captioning Issues
Date: October 3, 2006

1. FCC Emergency Summit. On November 15, 2006, the FCC will hold a summit for the purpose of gathering information on how best to improve access to emergency services by people with hearing and speech disabilities. Current plans are for the summit to have 3 panels that will address 1. consumer needs; 2. technical/engineering needs; and 3. short term and long term solutions. The FCC is now in the process of putting together these panels. Links to the public notice announcing this summit are listed below.

Released: 09/21/2006. FCC ANNOUNCES E9-1-1 DISABILITY ACCESS SUMMIT.
(DA No. 06-1908). CGB. Contact: Cheryl King at (202) 418-2284, email:
Cheryl.King@fcc.gov
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1908A1.doc>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1908A1.pdf>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1908A1.txt>

2. New Captioning Exemptions and Rules. On September 12, 2006, the FCC issued an order granting two requests for captioning exemptions for religious programming. The order explained that the FCC is "inclined favorably" to grant new exemption requests to organizations that do "not receive compensation from video programming distributors from the airing of [their] programs," and who allege that they "may terminate or substantially curtail [their] programming" or "other activities important to [their] mission" if forced to caption. The order granting these exemptions is attached. Around the same time that the FCC released this order, it also exempted approximately 250-300 other religious or non-profit broadcasters. The exact number remains unclear because these have not been released on public notice. This order also follows an earlier FCC public notice, released on August 7, 2006, which clarified that certain video programming providers do not need to caption their emergency programming, so long as they provided visual information about that programming. In that order, the FCC stated that it would not "second guess" determinations about whether to caption by programming providers regarding their inability to caption emergency programming, "so long as their determinations were made in good faith." The August public notice is attached as well.

Sept. 12th order: ANGLERS FOR CHRIST MINISTRIES, INC.; NEW BEGINNING MINISTRIES. Granted two separate petitions for exemption from the closed captioning requirements for video programming contained in section 79.1 of the Commission's rules. Action by: Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
Adopted: 09/11/2006 by MO&O. (DA No. 06-1802). CGB
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1802A1.doc>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1802A1.pdf>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1802A1.txt>

August 7th Public Notice: CLARIFICATION OF OBLIGATION OF VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS TO MAKE EMERGENCY INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES USING CLOSED CAPTIONING. (DA No. 06-1600). CGB. Contact: Thomas E. Chandler at (202) 418-1475, email: Thomas.Chandler@fcc.gov, TTY: (202) 418-0597
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1600A1.doc>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1600A1.pdf>
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1600A1.txt>

3. New FCC Bureau. The FCC has formally established a new bureau, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The goal of the bureau, as stated by FCC Chairman Martin, is to provide a single bureau for the development of rules and policies "to promote reliable communications for public safety, national security and disaster management." Links to the FCC's public notice announcing the new bureau are listed below.

This page last updated:October 15, 2006

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