WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A senior House Democrat on Thursday unveiled a bill requiring Internet-enabled telephone and video services to be usable by people with disabilities.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee, wants the subcommittee to act on the measure this summer.
The bill would extend to Internet telephone and video providers the same requirements imposed on traditional carriers to offer telecommunications relay services and make their devices compatible with hearing aids.
It also would require digital video displayed over the Internet to include close captioning and video descriptions.
The measure would directly affect companies like Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG) (VG), which provides Internet-based phone services, as well as traditional Internet providers and phone carriers who offer their services on multiple platforms.
In a statement, Markey reminded industry critics that cost complaints were raised over a decade ago during the push for closed-captioned TV.
"In that debate, we were told that mandating closed captioning was overly burdensome and would cost a fortune. Today, that law is indispensable, and the update this new bill provides will be equally indispensable," Markey said.
Under the bill, newly developed Internet-based services or equipment also would have to be accessible to people with hearing, speech, and sight impairments. But that requirement could be waived if it would result in an " undue burden."
The "undue burden" language in Markey's bill is the same as the exemption offered in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Vonage Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Stephen Seitz said his company already provides relay services to customers with disabilities. Those customers also rely on unique features of Vonage's service like text versions of voice mails, he said.
But Seitz is concerned about the "undue burden" language in Markey's bill, which he said is higher than a "readily achievable" standard imposed on traditional telephone companies.
"To support tools that allow interoperable services that benefit the disability community, there should be some uniform standards," Seitz said.
Vonage executives and representatives from traditional phone and Internet carriers have been working closely with Markey's staff and the disability community on the bill.
US Telecom Spokeswoman Allison Remson said the industry association is still reviewing it.
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-20-08 0947 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
