COAT and Affiliates Generally Supportive of ATT and T-Mobile Merger

In a filing at the Federal Communications Commission, the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology is generally supportive of AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile. COAT said we would like AT&T to more publicly affirm its commitment to universal design of products and services for people with disabilities.

COAT asked for reaffirmation of AT&T’s commitment to:

• Caption all video offerings available through UVerse
• Caption any AT&T Uverse video programming, or TV content over which ATT has control, that is also displayed on the Internet
• Caption any video clips on its website, such as for any public education campaigns or instructional materials, or circulate for other purposes
• Require video description of all video offerings available through UVerse from all content providers
• Require video description of any video clips on its website, such as for any public education campaigns or instructional videos, or circulated for other purposes
• Require wireless hand set and other product manufacturers (e.g., tablets, pods, laptops, netbooks) that have connectivity with the AT&T network to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, including hearing aid compatibility of all hand sets
• Provide low-cost, data-only and text-only plans for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and ‘grandfather in’ current T-Mobile customers who are deaf and hard of hearing who currently hold data plans at low rates, including those with unlimited plans.
• Provide full functional equivalency of telecommunications relay services (TRS)
• Offer plans for deaf and hard of hearing users that take into account the increased bandwidth required for video calls in order ensure effective communication
• Actively seek and implement technology that can immediately alert and warn people with disabilities of emergencies
• Ensure that its customer website is in compliance with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act