Consumer Groups Seek Expansion of Calif. Telecom Program for Deaf

Make children and teenagers eligible for California's deaf and disabled telecommunications program, Center for Accessible Technology and The Utility Reform Network said in comments posted Monday at the California Public Utilities Commission. Similar programs in Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Washington state are open to kids as young as 4 or 5 years old, said the consumer groups in docket R.23-11-001. Also, the consumer advocates said the commission should do more targeted outreach to gather input on topics including emergency preparedness, program certification requirements and ways to spur technological innovation. In addition, the CPUC should address barriers to access, they said. “A very common driver of a lack of access is a failure to recognize that there is a wide spectrum of communications needs, and that individual communications needs can be very complex.”