Letter to the FCC from NAD and TDI Regarding Instant Messaging (IM)

The Honorable William Kennard, Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 Twelfth Street, SW, Room 8B- 201
Washington, D.C. 20554

Dear Chairman Kennard:

We are writing regarding the issue of instant messaging (IM), which has recently been the subject of debate in relation to the proposed merger of America Online and Time Warner.

As advocates for communications accessibility, we are of course deeply interested in all technologies that can solve particular challenges for people who are deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind. In its current incarnation, IM enables deaf-to-deaf and deaf-to-hearing seamless communication for people with computers and Internet connections (but only as long as they share the same provider).

Therefore, we have a strong interest in making sure the open and interoperable communication functions that have helped fuel the explosive growth of the Internet continue as the medium makes new forms of communications possible.

As IM technology develops and IM moves onto wireless devices such as pagers and cell phones, the possibilities for enhanced communication become even more exciting.

A fundamental principle of accessibility is that users of critical communications functions should be able to communicate with all others, even those who have different service providers. Ease of communication, regardless of provider, is important to all consumers, and especially so to deaf and hard of hearing people, for whom instant messaging represents an important new advance.

Because of this, the government should support the principle of open standards and interoperability for instant messaging, as it has for other critical communications functions.

At the 45th Biennial Conference of the National Association of the Deaf, held in July 2000 in Norfolk VA, the following resolution was passed by formal vote of conference delegates:

Whereas, Instant Messaging will become a large and critical communications function in telecommunications generally, and

Whereas, Instant Messaging provides significant benefits for the deaf and hard of hearing community, enabling instant communications in a user friendly manner, and

Whereas, individuals should be able to exchange instant messages regardless of which product, or which service provider, they use, just as is true with telephony and e-mail, and

Whereas, the government should support the principle of open standards and interoperability for instant messaging, as it has for other critical communications functions, and

Whereas, the government should make it clear to the marketplace its expectation that no single provider will be allowed to put a wall around the market, either to keep their customers in or to keep competition and innovations out,

Therefore, be it resolved that the National Association of the Deaf shall communicate with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission and advocate that those Commissions take action to ensure that the Instant Messaging market has the benefits of open standards and interoperability as soon as possible.

Instant messaging represents a potential breakthrough in communications opportunities for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing people, late-deafened, and deaf-blind. The NAD anticipates further innovations for wireless devices such as pagers and cell phones, which will make real-time communication easy and compelling. The NAD, too, is concerned that this sort of innovation won't happen if each provider uses a different protocol.

TDI endorses the position taken by the Council of Representatives at the National Association of the Deaf Conference on the instant messaging interoperability issue. TDI calls for review and appropriate action to make instant messaging interoperable as well as accessible to all people with or without disabilities. Said TDI Executive Director Claude Stout, "We have various options to pick certain carriers for long distance and/or local phone service, and make calls to others that are with similar or different carriers. Thus, we must experience the same kind of flexibility and opportunities in instant messaging."

The NAD has a very active listserve, the Telecom Advocacy Network (NAD-TAN), chaired by Pamela Y. Holmes. Herewith are comments by NAD-TAN members on the subject of instant messaging accessibility:

"On the business side of instant messaging I feel this method of communication has become a valuable tool for me, as a deaf individual. I find it to be effective, and more importantly, functionally equivalent to what people with normal hearing experience over the telephone. I use it to talk with business associates on a daily basis. This allows me to multi-task and stay competitive in the business world, without using the relay service."
-- TAN Member from California

"As an individual who is deaf, I want to be able to use Instant Messaging with anyone, regardless of which company is their ISP, just as I can use email with anyone. This includes my sister in Australia, my neighbor down the street, and my daughter several hundred miles away."
-- TAN member from California

"Instant messaging has become a valuable tool for me, as a deaf individual. I use it to conduct a wide variety of business activities and meetings. The traditional telephone is not practical for me. The use of IM has made my work much more effective and I become more productive. IM is a valuable tool for my business."
-- TAN member from Georgia.

"Instant messaging has become a valuable tool for me, as a deaf individual. I use it to communicate with colleagues at work, both within my organization and without. IM fills the gap between emails and pagers. Email is for messages on which I can wait a day or two for a response. Pagers are for messages on which I require an immediate response. With IM, I can leave a message on the person's computer screen. If the person is not at his/her computer, I know that s/he will see the message when s/he returns to the computer. IM also serves as a replacement to clunky, cumbersome TTYs. With TTYs, I need to look up the number to be dialed, sit there while waiting for the line to be answered, navigate the front desk or receptionist who answers the call, sit even longer while being transferred, then patiently wait my turn to type when the other party is typing. And, this is if all goes pretty smoothly -- if I don't encounter any unanswered calls or busy signals. If I'm trying to reach a non-TTY user, I need to reach the Relay service first, adding a few more minutes to the ordeal as the operator explains to the called party how to use Relay.

"On the other hand, with IM, I can simply click on the name of the person I wish to talk to, type my opening line and send it to that person's computer. That person can respond when s/he returns to the computer, or when s/he is ready. Once engaged, both parties can type their messages simultaneously -- no need to wait for a 'Go Ahead' from the other party! Further, IM is useful for group (three or more) chats. While technically possible with TTYs, the process is just too cumbersome to be worthwhile. With IM, all I have to do is click on the names of all the people I want to invite to a chat session. I conduct regular, weekly meetings utilizing this method with my staff, who are spread all over the nation. This is far better than setting up a voice conference call where I, as a Deaf person, have to contend with the lag time of a sign language interpreter and all that it entails. With IM being such a valuable tool, it is consternating that there are several different protocols used for IM, all being incompatible with the others. This is akin to having several different standards for emails or phone calls. If this were the case in America today, businesses would be at a competitive disadvantage with those overseas. IM most certainly will evolve to be another medium of communication -- both among deaf and hearing people. With a fragmented IM-user community, not only would the effect be to frustrate people attempting to communicate with others, but it would serve to isolate people and businesses from one another. In this way, the Digital Divide would be perpetuated. Therefore, I ask the FCC to immediately move to establish standards and protocols for universal IM-ability. The FCC has shown itself in recent years to be extremely concerned about ensuring that technology have-nots, Deaf people, and other disabled people do not get left behind in the technological revolution. This IM issue is simply another piece of the same picture that needs to be put into alignment. Thank you for your consideration on this all-important matter, the issue of IM compatibility!"
-- TAN member hailing from the great State of South Dakota!

"The public switched telephone network (PSTN) did not arrive at its present state of ubiquitousness by means of fragmentation and use of proprietary protocols and frequencies by competing carriers. Given the present growth rate of wireless communications, one can only conclude that wireless communication may one day surpass traditional telephony in popularity and usage. It is critical that early in its evolution wireless be made as open and universally accessible as the current PSTN."
-- TAN member from Texas.

"I use it to quickly reach another person who is available online. It's a great way to share information with people, regardless of hearing loss. It offers advantages that current TTYs and relay services can't. I can send information from my computer by cutting and pasting it to the instant message or as an email that the person can review and respond to by IM. I can also save and store conversations for review later."
-- TAN member from Virginia.

"Instant messaging affords me with the ability to confer individually with as well as on a group basis with a number of business associates. This effectively eliminates any need for intermediaries, i.e., sign language interpreters, telecommunications relay services, and the like, thus affording direct communication in an efficient and effective manner. While I can understand corporate security concerns surrounding the usage of instant messaging, one needs to also recognize the fact that voice telephony over the Internet is fast becoming a way of life, even in the corporate world. Recognition must be given to the fact that instant messaging and the ability to conference over the Internet provides us with functional equivalence to voice telephony."
-- TAN member from Maryland.

As you can see, it is of particular importance that people who are deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind be able to take advantage of the many advantages that instant messaging has to offer for seamless, instantaneous, and barrier-free communications. Attention must also be given to universal design and the importance of planning for access right from the start.

Taking the above conference resolution and NAD-TAN comments into account, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) in partnership with TDI respectfully requests your consideration and support in this matter, which is of utmost importance to 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans nationwide.

Sincerely,

Nancy J. Bloch
NAD Executive Director

cc:
NAD Board of Directors
Pam Holmes, Chair, NAD-TAN
Claude Stout, Executive Director, TDI