NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT July 3, 2012 Dave Grimaldi, (202) 418-2100 dave.grimaldi@fcc.gov FCC COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN ON THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL DEAF-BLIND EQUIPMENT PROGRAM and the VIDEO DESCRIPTION RULES Today marks an exciting moment on the path towards ensuring that the 50 million Americans who live with disabilities have the same level of access to advanced communications services that other Americans enjoy. The National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) will allow entities in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to begin to bridge equipment and technology gaps that currently deny deaf-blind individuals access to communications systems. The NDBEDP stems from the landmark 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). The CVAA set the course for the Commission to adopt rules, such as the NDBEDP, to work towards providing access to vital communications services for those who were previously denied. With today’s launching of the NDBEDP, I am proud that the Commission has acted in a timely manner to begin to address the communications access challenges faced by deaf-blind individuals. This is an important moment towards ensuring that individuals who are deaf-blind are able to fully utilize our nation’s communications systems, and I will continue working towards achieving this critical goal. I would also like to acknowledge the implementation of the video description rules that the FCC adopted in August of last year. All citizens will now be able to reap the benefits of televised content in an even more complete way, ending a wait that has gone on for far too long. In providing video description, America’s blind community will not only be able to enjoy the entertainment that video content providers offer, but they will also be part of the conversations around it. ###