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Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C

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Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) PN Comments – Accessibility of ) CG Docket No. 10-213 Communications Technologies ) To: Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau COMMENTS OF MICROSOFT CORPORATION Accessibility is a business imperative for Microsoft, as both a matter of compliance and an area ripe for innovation. We are investing in design principles and natural user interfaces that help individuals of all abilities,1 and innovating in touch, gesture, and speech recognition that can be used to improve communications services available to people with disabilities. Some of our innovations were not designed exclusively for accessibility, such as the work we’ve done on the Windows touch interface, or Bing’s voice-activated search for our Windows Phone digital personal assistant Cortana. Other innovation is focused on helping people with disabilities, such as Microsoft’s partnership with the UK non-profit “Guide Dogs for the Blind” to enable better independent mobility, which we discuss below. In implementing the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (“CVAA”), the Commission has left space for such innovation to occur by avoiding overly prescriptive regulations and setting reasonable compliance deadlines that provide industry time to research break-through solutions. For a company like Microsoft, that is already investing 1 Microsoft, Digital Inclusion and Natural User Interface Technology: A Policy Framework, http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/1/A/C1AA2411-C3AE-4D21-8C46- F33CE49BBFCF/Digital-Inclusion-Natural-User-Interface-Technology.pdf. in accessibility solutions and offers a multitude of devices, software and services to a wide range of customers around the world, that space is key for us to best use our technological know-how to deliver accessibility advancements that benefit people with disabilities. As the Commission prepares its biennial report to Congress regarding the accessibility of telecommunications and advanced communications services, the Commission can attest to the benefits it has achieved by enabling a cycle of innovation which will continue to pay dividends as technology advances. I. MICROSOFT IS DELIVERING ACCESSIBLE, INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS WHILE ALSO ADVANCING THE OBJECTIVES OF THE CVAA. Microsoft has long been committed to reducing usage barriers including for people with disabilities. Our ongoing work demonstrates the benefits of maintaining a regulatory atmosphere conducive to the development of new and innovative accessibility solutions. Microsoft is advancing core touch, gesture, and speech recognition technologies in ways that offer additional choices for individuals with disabilities. For example, Microsoft has previewed Cortana, a voice-based intelligent personal assistant, in beta on the Windows Phone. Skype, Microsoft’s Voice over Internet Protocol service, recently integrated Cortana on the Windows Phone so users can now start a Skype call by telling Cortana, “Skype, get Mom on the screen.” 2 Over time, technologies like Cortana will enable hands-free interaction modes that benefit individuals with limited manual dexterity, situational impairments, and other disabilities. Likewise, advances in the Windows touch interface have unlocked new possibilities to use eye- tracking technology. Microsoft’s partner, Tobii, recently released the EyeMobile, which 2 For more information, see CNET, Now Microsoft's Cortana can help you place a Skype call, (June 26, 2014), http://www.cnet.com/news/microsofts-cortana-virtual-assistant-comes-to-skype- on-windows-phone. 2 connects to Windows 8 tablets to enable full functionality of the tablet – including advanced communications services installed on the tablet – using eye gaze.3 The technology was optimized to work with the Microsoft Surface, mirroring the functions of Windows 8 designed for touch – such as swiping, tapping, and scrolling. Microsoft is also partnering with the UK nonprofit Guide Dogs for the Blind and Future Cities Catapult (UK Government) and other transport providers, retailers, entertainment venues, and policy makers to deliver pilot technologies to enable a new level of independent mobility for people with blindness or partial sight. The pilot project aims to narrate a visual environment through an earpiece connected to a mobile device using Microsoft applications.4 In the future, these new technologies may provide more accessibility than any particular hardware or software solution that we can envision today. The Commission’s regulatory approach best fosters this kind of innovation when it focuses on outcomes, rather than prescriptive regulations. For example, in the closed captioning context, the Commission wisely chose to implement CVAA requirements related to accessing closed captioning by focusing on the ease and simplicity of use, rather than prescribing a particular hardware or software solution.5 These policies encourage innovation in new technologies, such as gesture and voice commands, to provide solutions. Today, Microsoft Xbox customers can use the controller or voice commands to activate closed captioning. Voice and 3 Daniel Hubbell (Microsoft), Using Windows 8 with Eye Tracking Technology, (Sep. 19, 2013) http://blogs.msdn.com/b/accessibility/archive/2013/09/19/using-windows-8-with-eye-tracking- technology.aspx. 4 For more information, see Ollie Barton, Microsoft CityNext: Helping Guide Dogs support people with sight loss, (Jan. 15, 2014) http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukgovernment/archive/2014/01/15/microsoft-citynext-helping-guide- dogs-support-people-with-sight-loss.aspx. 5 Accessibility of User Interfaces, and Video Programming Guides and Menus, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 28 FCC Rcd 17330 (2013), ¶ 79. See also 47 C.F.R. §§ 79.109(a), (b). 3 gesture commands also enable programs such as the Exergamers NYC project, which encourages exercise for low-vision seniors using Xbox Kinect technology.6 In addition, advances in speech- recognition technology across Microsoft products such as Xbox and Surface have improved the lives of individuals with mobility impairments.7 The advantages of providing industry flexibility in complying with accessibility requirements are also evident with respect to advanced communications services. When the Commission provided that either built-in solutions or third-party assistive technology available to users at a nominal cost would satisfy CVAA requirements, Microsoft responded by offering its customers a range of choices. For example, Office for Windows users with visual impairments can now elect to use either Narrator, the built-in screen reader available with Microsoft Windows, or AI Squared’s highly regarded Window-Eyes screen reader, which ordinarily retails at $895 or more in the U.S. but that Microsoft makes available at no charge.8 In addition, Microsoft helps to maintain a robust ecosystem of third-party assistive technology solutions by leading and contributing to international accessibility standards such as the ISO/IEC 13066-series. Such efforts further facilitate assistive technology interoperability and consumer choice. 6 Danielle Hubbell (Microsoft), Blind and low-vision seniors dance and bowl with Microsoft Xbox games, (Feb. 6, 2014) http://blogs.msdn.com/b/accessibility/archive/2014/02/06/blind-and- low-vision-seniors-dance-and-bowl-with-microsoft-xbox-games.aspx. 7 For example, see Paul Nyhan and Aimee Riordan, Surface Pro, Xbox help Washington man overcome life-changing injury, (July 1, 2014) http://www.microsoft.com/en- us/news/features/2014/jul14/07-01surfacepro.aspx. 8 For more information, see National Federation of the Blind Commends Microsoft and GW Micro for Groundbreaking Accessibility Partnership, (Jan. 14, 2014) http://www.marketwatch.com/story/national-federation-of-the-blind-commends-microsoft-and- gw-micro-for-groundbreaking-accessibility-partnership-2014-01-14. 4 II. THE COMMISSION’S FLEXIBLE APPROACH IS REQUIRED BY THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY. By fostering a flexible policy environment conducive to the development of new and innovative solutions, the Commission has helped ensure that industry resources are applied to solutions that deliver the maximum benefit to consumers with disabilities. 1. Microsoft delivers communications services in a complex ecosystem. As the Commission has acknowledged, “[a]dvanced communications services are delivered within a complex and evolving ecosystem.”9 Microsoft faces unique challenges due to the breadth of our products and services. Our portfolio of devices and services spans the wide range of accessibility issues that the Commission regulates—from communication offerings like Skype and Outlook.com, to enterprise tools such as Office 365 and Exchange Online, to closed captioning on the Xbox Live service. Microsoft provides services that run on multiple combinations of platforms, browsers, apps, and services. For example, a single Microsoft app often runs on several desktop platforms (e.g., Windows and Mac), mobile platforms (e.g., Surface, iPad, Windows Phone, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Kindle), and might have an online version available via multiple browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, Firefox) that themselves are available in multiple versions. Furthering the complexity, each of these combinations can access a variety of services (e.g., mobile and fixed broadband services offered by different providers). These experiences must each be separately engineered, tested, and updated
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