PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 13-1686 Released: August 1, 2013 REQUEST FOR COMMENT PETITION FOR CLASS WAIVER OF COMMISSION’S RULES FOR ACCESS TO ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CG Docket No. 10-213 Comments Due: September 3, 2013 Reply Comments Due: September 13, 2013 The Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers (the Coalition), pursuant to section 716(h)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), 47 U.S.C. § 617(h)(1), and sections 1.3 and 14.5 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.3 and 14.5, has filed a petition for a waiver of the Commission’s rules requiring equipment used for advanced communications services (ACS) to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.1 The Coalition seeks a waiver for a single class of equipment: e-readers.2 The Coalition’s petition states that, although e-readers are equipment that consumers can use for ACS, they are designed primarily for reading and therefore qualify for a waiver from the Commission’s ACS rules. Comments and oppositions are due within 30 days from the date of this Public Notice. Reply comments are due within 10 days after the time for filing comments and oppositions has expired. Permit-but-Disclose. The proceeding this Public Notice initiates shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules.3 Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the 1 Petition for Waiver, CG Docket No. 10-213, filed May 16, 2013 (Coalition Petition). The Coalition consists of Amazon.com, Inc.; Kobo Inc.; and Sony Electronics Inc. 2 To distinguish e-readers from tablets and other general purpose devices such as PCs that would not be subject to the waiver request, the Coalition proposes that the waiver expressly apply only to a devices with the following features: (1) they have no LCD screen; (2) they have no camera; (3) they are not offered or shipped to consumers with built-in ACS client applications and their manufacturers do not develop ACS applications for their respective devices, though the devices may include a browser and social media applications; and (4) they are marketed to consumers as reading devices and promotional material does not tout the capability to access ACS. See Coalition Ex Parte Letter Supplementing the Coalition Petition (July 17, 2013) at 1-2. 3 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200 et seq. 2memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules. Filing Instructions. Interested parties may file comments, oppositions, and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on the first page of this document. § Electronic Filers: Comments and reply comments may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS)4 by accessing http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. § Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. If more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. § All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering the building. § Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. § U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554. Availability of Documents. Comments, reply comments, and ex parte submissions will be available for public inspection during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. These documents will also be available via ECFS. Documents will be available electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat. People with Disabilities. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). This Public Notice can also be downloaded in Word and Portable Document Format at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/advanced- communications-services-acs. Additional Information. For additional information on this proceeding, please contact Eliot Greenwald, 202-418-2235, or e-mail eliot.greenwald@fcc.gov; or Rosaline Crawford, 202-418-2075, or e-mail rosaline.crawford@fcc.gov, of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. -FCC- 4 See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998).