Are we there yet? The developing state of mobile access equity

Area of Science:

• Accessibility research
• Human-computer interaction
• Disability studies

Background:

• The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 mandates accessibility in telecommunications.
• Assessing industry compliance is vital for informing federal regulatory policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate mobile phone accessibility features for people with disabilities.
• To analyze compliance with the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.
• To track changes in mobile phone accessibility over time.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed phone models from major wireless and Lifeline carriers.
• Collected data on accessibility features for vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility disabilities.
• Conducted comparative analysis by disability type, phone type, and data collection period (2015, 2017, 2019/20).

Main Results:

• Overall mobile phone accessibility shows improvement across studied periods.
• Accessibility features are not consistently available across all phone models.
• Gaps in the accessibility experience persist for users with disabilities.

Conclusions:

• Continued progress in mobile phone accessibility requires uniform feature availability.
• Ensuring a full range of accessible devices promotes market inclusivity for people with disabilities.
• Regulatory policy should address persistent gaps to foster universal access.