National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program

The Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announces the launch of the (NDBEDP), effective July 1, 2012.

The NDBEDP will begin to fill existing equipment and technology gaps to meet the communications access needs of this underserved population which, until now, largely has been denied the opportunity to enjoy the full benefits that these systems can provide. The FCC established the NDBEDP in response to the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). The CVAA directed the FCC to establish a program using funding of up to $10 million annually from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund (TRS Fund) for the nationwide distribution of communications equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind. On April 4, 2011, the Commission adopted the NDBEDP Pilot Order, establishing the framework for a two- to three-year pilot program to fulfill this CVAA mandate. The FCC announced the selection of 53 applicants to become certified programs authorized to distribute equipment under the NDBEDP in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands