FCC Addresses Voice Mail and Voice Menu Access
Editor: Have you ever been frustrated by a telephone voice menu
system? You know, the friendly recorded voice that instructs you to
"press 'one' to get information", "press 'two' to order a
book", etc. Or how about voice mail systems? Some people who are
able to use the phone with a "live" person have real problems
with these mechanical alternatives. People who access them through the
relay report that it's nearly impossible to use these systems through
the relay, because there simply isn't enough time to communicate back
and forth.
Well, there are laws that require these systems to be accessible to
everyone; the laws are being ignored and the Federal Communications
Commission may do something about it. They have recently released a
Report and Order that establishes rules and policies regarding these
systems. Excerpts from the press release are provided below. The text of
the full press release is available at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Public_Notices/da002162.html.
You may also email the FCC with questions or concerns at Access@fcc.gov.
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On September 29, 1999, the Commission released a Report and Order
establishing rules and policies to implement sections 255 and 251(a)(2)
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 255 and
251(a)(2). Section 255 requires manufacturers of telecommunications
equipment and providers of telecommunications service to ensure that
such equipment and services are accessible to persons with disabilities,
if readily achievable. Section 251(a)(2) provides that each
telecommunications carrier has the duty not to install network features,
functions, or capabilities that conflict with the guidelines and
standards established pursuant to section 255.
In the Report and Order, the Commission determined that in order for
it to implement meaningfully the accessibility requirements of section
255, comparable requirements should apply to two information services
that the Commission deemed critical to making telecommunications
accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Therefore, the
Commission ... extended the section 255 accessibility requirements to
the providers of voicemail and interactive menu service and to the
manufacturers of the equipment that perform those functions.
FCC staff has informally received information suggesting that many
consumers with disabilities may be continuing to have difficulties
accessing and using voicemail and interactive menu services. For
example, these systems may remain largely inaccessible to users of text
telephones (TTYs) who wish to interact with these systems directly.
In addition, we understand that TTY users who seek to use
telecommunications relay service (TRS) to access interactive and voice
menus may be frequently encountering lengthy delays or are frustrated by
their inability to complete calls to schools, banks, employers and other
public and private institutions that use these systems. It also appears
that many interactive menus may not allow adequate time for a TTY user
to have the information from the automated device relayed to the
caller's TTY and a response from the caller relayed back to the device
through TRS.
We have also received reports that the sounds or instructions
provided with some interactive and voice menus may often be so fast that
a person who is hard of hearing or is cognitively delayed cannot process
them quickly enough. Similarly, we have been informed that the speed of
these menus may not provide persons who are blind or have a motor
disability with enough time to input the numbers or other information
needed to select from a list of menu choices. These difficulties are
exacerbated by the fact that interactive menus frequently may not offer
an option to connect the caller with a human operator.
As the Commission noted in its Report and Order, the access barrier
created by inaccessible and/or unusable voicemail and interactive menus
makes it "extremely difficult for people with hearing, vision, or
physical disabilities to reach the party to whom they have placed the
call or to obtain the information they seek in their phone call."
Manufacturers and providers of voicemail and interactive menu services
and products are reminded of their obligations to take the appropriate
measures to ensure that their products and services are accessible to
and usable by persons with disabilities, if readily achievable. Failure
to take appropriate steps to enable such access may lead to monetary
forfeiture orders or other enforcement action by the Commission.
For Additional Information, contact:
Enforcement Bureau: Thomas Wyatt at (202) 418-0963; TTY (202) 418-8233
or Suzanne Perrin at (202) 418-2874
Consumer Information Bureau: Jenifer Simpson at (202) 418-0008
Common Carrier Bureau: Ellen Blackler at (202) 418-0491.
