NEWS
	Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554	News media information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 202/418-2555
	This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 19, 2001 News Media contact: Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0511 (voice) (202) 418-0179 (TTY) email: rkimball@fcc.gov
	CONSUMER/DISABILITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO HOLD FIRST MEETING ON MONDAY, MARCH 26
	Washington, DC - The FCC will receive an important new tool to assist it in serving consumers, including those with disabilities, when the Consumer/Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee holds its first meeting on Monday, March 26. Chairman Powell, Commissioners Ness, Furchtgott-Roth and Tristani will offer welcoming remarks. The Committee is composed of 40 distinguished representatives of business, academia, consumer and disability organizations, Hispanic groups, Indian country, and the public. It will be chaired by nationally-known consumer advocate Shirley Rooker, President of the "Call For Action," the international network of radio and television stations that support consumer hotlines. A list of the Committee members is attached. The FCC announced the establishment of the Committee on November 30, 2000. Organized under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act at the FCC, it will play a large role in keeping the Commission apprised of the needs and concerns of consumers. It will make recommendations to the Commission regarding consumer and disability issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission and facilitate the participation of consumers, including people with disabilities and underserved populations, in proceedings before the Commission. The Committee will be divided into three subcommittee working groups: Consumer Protection and Education; Access by People with Disabilities; and Availability and Affordability of Telecommunications Products and Services. A list of these working groups with the subjects that they may be exploring is attached. Additional subject matters may be covered at the discretion of the Committee. The meeting will be held at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th St., SW, in the Commission Meeting Room, and is open to the public. It will begin at 9:00 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM. The agenda is attached. The meeting will be broadcast on the Internet in Real Audio/Real Video format with captioning at www.fcc.gov/cib/cdtac. The meeting will be sign language interpreted and realtime transcription will also be available. Meeting agendas and handout material will also be provided in accessible formats. The meeting site is fully accessible to people with disabilities. - FCC - Consumer Information Bureau contact: Scott Marshall at (202) 418-2809 (voice) or (202) 418-0179 (TTY); email: cdtac@fcc.gov

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.		Welcome and Call to Order Shirley Rooker, Committee Chair Scott Marshall, Designated Federal Officer/Consumer Information Bureau (CIB)
9:15 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.		Welcome and Remarks Chairman Michael K. Powell Commissioner Susan Ness Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth Commissioner Gloria Tristani
9:55 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.		Review of Meeting Agenda and Logistics Scott Marshall Introduction of Committee Members Shirley Rooker
11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.		What We're All About: The FCC Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Chief, CIB Margaret Egler, Associate Chief for Policy, CIB
11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.		Lunch
12:30 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.		The Mission of CDTAC Roderick K. Porter, Acting Chief, CIB
12:45 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.		Review of CDTAC Operating Guidelines Scott Marshall
1:00 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.		Charge to Subcommittees Shirley Rooker
1:10 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.		Subcommittee Breakout Sessions
2:50 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.		Break
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.		Report from Subcommittees Comments from the Public Wrap-up and Next Steps
4:30 p.m.		Adjournment

Rayna Aylward
Executive Director
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation

Brenda Battat
Acting Executive Director Self Help for Hard of Hearing People

Gil Becker
Chair
National Association of State Relay Administration

Daniel Brenner
Senior Vice President for Law and Regulatory Policy
National Cable Television Association

Julie Carroll
Senior Policy Analyst
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center

Robert E. Chrostowski
Chairman
Government Relations Committee
Telecommunication Industry Association

Michael F. DelCasino
Regulatory Division Manager
AT&T;

Richard T. Ellis
Director of Federal Affairs
Verizon Communications

Maricela Gallegos
Disability Program Manager
Hewlett-Packard Company

Joseph C. Gaskins
President
ConnectBid LLC

Larry Goldberg
Director
WGBH National Center for Accessible Media

Susan Grant
Director
National Fraud and Information Center
National Consumers League

Judith E. Harkins, Ph.D.
Professor
Gallaudet University

Dahlia E. Hayles
Director
Telecommunications Project
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund

Steve Jacobs
President
IDEAL at NCR

Vernon R. James
Executive Director
Health and Human Services
San Carlos Apache Tribe

Matt Kaltenbach
Product Manager
Technical Standards and Customer Features
Ericsson Inc.

Karen Fullum Kirsch
Vice President
Regulatory Affairs
National Association of Broadcasters

Jeffrey Kramer
Legislative Representative for Telecommunications and Utilities
Federal Affairs Department
AARP

Andrew Lange
Special Assistant to the CEO
Communications Service for the Deaf

Lila Laux, Ph.D.
Lead Engineer
Human Factors Engineer
Qwest Communications International, Inc.

Nanci Linke-Ellis
Executive Director
TRIPOD Captioned Films

Milton J. Little, Jr.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
The National Urban League

Paul W. Ludwick
TRS Product Manager
Sprint Corporation

Ken McEldowney
Executive Director
Consumer Action

Belinda Nelson
General Manager
Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Shelley Nixon
College Student
Cabrini College

Kathleen F. O'Reilly
Attorney at Law

Susan Palmer
Manager of Industry Affairs
Cingular Wireless LLC

David Poehlman
Technology Consultant
American Council of the Blind

Dr. Refugio I. Rochin
Director
Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives
Smithsonian Institution

Shirley L. Rooker
President
Call For Action

Laura Ruby
Regulatory Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation

Paul Schroeder
President
Alliance for Public Technology

Bob Segalman, Ph.D.
Founder, Speech to Speech

Jim Tobias
President
Inclusive Technologies

Micaela Tucker
Team Leader
Accessibility Project
Nokia

Judith Viera
Vice President
Consumer & Regulatory Affairs
Wynd Communications Corporation

Karen Walls
Senior Staff Associate
Telecommunications Research & Action Center

Andrea Williams
Assistant General Counsel
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association

Consumer Protection and Education

• Cramming
• Slamming
• Consumer friendly billing
• Detariffing
• Bundling of services
• Customer service
• Privacy
• Telemarketing abuses
• Predictive dialing
• Pay phone disclosures
• Numbering allocation
• Obtaining information about products and services

Access by People with Disabilities

• Telecommunications relay services
• Video description
• Captioning
• Accessible billing
• Accessible design of telecommunications equipment
• Access to network services (wireline and wireless)
• Convergence issues

Availability and Affordability of Telecommunications Products and Services

• Service to unserved or underserved populations
• Universal Service (schools, libraries, etc.)
• Local service in rural areas
• Broadband
• Digital television
• Cable
• Satellite
• Low power FM
• Lifeline/Link-up programs
• Convergence issues