#Telecommunications procurement

[telcobroker]

Wireless Telecom Procurement Strategies in 2025

As the telecommunications industry enters 2025, procurement teams within wireless telecom companies face a dynamic landscape shaped by rapidly advancing technologies, evolving market demands, and increasing regulatory complexities. Telecommunications procurement, particularly in the wireless sector, is becoming more complex as companies navigate the rise of 5G networks, the expansion of mobile telecom services, and the growing intricacy of mobile contracts. This article delves into the key trends, challenges, and strategic solutions for procurement professionals in wireless telecom, offering insights into how to develop effective procurement strategies in an increasingly competitive and fast-paced market.

Key Trends Shaping Wireless Telecom Procurement

The Rise of 5G Networks

One of the most significant trends in the wireless telecom sector is the global rollout of 5G networks. With 5G offering faster speeds, lower latency, and higher capacity than its predecessors, it is poised to revolutionise various industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. However, the deployment of 5G infrastructure presents unique challenges for procurement teams. The technology requires substantial investment in new equipment, including advanced antennas, fibre optic cables, and base stations.

Procurement teams must navigate the complexity of sourcing high-quality 5G equipment while managing costs. Given the advanced nature of 5G technology, procurement professionals are required to have in-depth knowledge of the latest equipment and suppliers, as well as the ability to negotiate long-term contracts that ensure the company remains at the forefront of the technological curve.

Moreover, 5G networks often involve partnerships with multiple vendors across different geographies, requiring procurement teams to manage a complex network of suppliers. This can lead to increased coordination efforts and the need for robust supplier management practices. Read More About The Article

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

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Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[beardedmrbean]

A man who sent sexual messages to an undercover police officer he thought was a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced.

Ruben Pretorius, 33, had messaged 'Megan' over an eight month period in 2021 and 2022, encouraging her to engage in sexual behaviour and sending her indecent pictures of himself.

Douglas Courthouse heard Pretorius had used a fake name while messaging the girl and jokingly said that she looked 14 when told she was 12.

Deemster Graeme Cook said he had been "overtly sexual" in his communications.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Video call

The court heard Pretorius, of Clifton Terrace in Douglas, and the undercover officer, who was based in the UK, initially communicated with each other on Kik Messenger before moving to Snapchat.

The messages included "frequent reference" to her being a school girl, and on one occasion Pretorius asked if they could have video call when her mother was "sleeping" so that she could "see me", the court was told.

The communications took place on a total of 40 days between November 2021 and July 2022.

The court heard while the messaging had dropped off during the summer of 2022, the police investigation was not launched until April the following year, with Pretorius arrested in July.

The 33-year-old previously pleaded guilty to attempting to procure gross indecency from a child as well as telecommunication offences.

Deemster Cook said that he was "not satisfied" as to why the constabulary "took as long as they did to arrest you".

The deemster said Pretorius was "one of the last" to be sentenced under 1992 legislation, and had it been under the new sexual offences legislation introduced on Monday it "would have been a different matter".

He was also made subject to a sexual offences prevention order, which restricts his access to and use of the internet, and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

[muzaktomyears]

Secret life of the Beatles and the man who got them groupies and pot

Mal Evans was the Beatles’ fixer, roadie and confidant, but little is known about the man the Fab Four adored. Now a new book reveals all

For eight years, Malcolm “Mal” Evans was, in his way, as fundamental to the Beatles as Brian Epstein and George Martin. He was their long-time roadie and personal assistant, sometime lyricist, occasional performer and regular fixer at the height of the group’s fame and beyond.

Over the years he became friend and confidant — attending their weddings, fending off fans, procuring groupies, accompanying them on holiday, joining them on acid trips, going to India on their infamous pilgrimage to see the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. But Mal’s dedication to the “boys” and his own desire for stardom took its toll, leading to the end of his marriage and his untimely death in January 1976.

Until now, Mal’s life remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews and with full access to unpublished archives — including his personal diaries, manuscripts and memorabilia which for 12 years were forgotten in the basement of an American publishing house — this is the first complete portrait of a complicated figure at the heart of the Beatles’ story. Just when you thought there was nothing new to know about the Fab Four, here comes the extraordinary tale of one ordinary man right in the middle of it all.

AT 27, MAL HAD FIVE YEARS on John Lennon and Ringo Starr and even more on Paul McCartney, who had turned 20 in June 1961, and George Harrison, still a teenager at 19. Mal – was the odd man out in more ways than one. He held a real job, as a telecommunications engineer for the General Post Office, and he had a home and a family. With his wife, Lily, he lived in Liverpool’s Allerton district, where they were raising their 15-month-old son, Gary.

It was a simple twist of fate that landed Mal behind the wheel of the band’s Ford Thames van on a January day in 1962. Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ road manager, had fallen ill with flu. He was hardly the only person felled during that severe winter. During the last week of December, a blizzard swept across England and Wales, leaving snow drifts of up to 20ft in its wake.

By the time Mal and the Beatles began the long drive to London, around midday on Monday, January 21, the van’s brakes had begun to slip. During the early leg of their journey, brakes didn’t really matter. But it was on the journey home that disaster struck in the middle of the night. As Mal drove along a quiet rural road, the windscreen “cracked with a terrible bang”, as he’d write later in his Post Office Engineering Union diary. With the windscreen splintered, Paul observed as Mal “put his hat backwards on his hand, punched the windscreen out completely and drove on”.

Mal was left to contend with the gale-force winds now pummelling the van’s interior. The bandmates gathered up stray caps and scarves and wrapped them about their beleaguered driver, who had pulled a paper bag over his head to battle the cold. “It was perishing,” John later recalled. “Mal had this paper bag over his head with just a big split in it for his eyes. He looked like a bank robber.” Meanwhile, John, Paul, George and Ringo huddled together in the rear of the van, sharing a bottle of whisky while stacked one atop the other to generate much needed warmth. “And when the one on the top got so cold it was like hypothermia was setting in,” Ringo recalled, “it was his turn to get on the bottom, and we’d warm each other up that way, and keep swigging the whisky.” It was, in Paul’s words, “a Beatle sandwich”.

All the while, Mal and the boys maintained a steady banter to stave off exhaustion. As the Big Freeze raged — swirling both inside and outside the van — the Beatles regularly pestered their driver about how much further they had to go. “[Two hundred] miles to go!” Mal would reply, referencing the approximate distance between Liverpool and London. In the years to come, “It became our own private joke, and ‘200 miles to go, Mal’ was heard whenever things were tough.”

DURING HIS YEARS WITH THE BAND, Mal discovered that the best way to avoid being ribbed by the boys was to be ready for virtually anything. To this end, he carried around with him an ever growing doctor’s bag to meet the Beatles’ every possible whim. It was swollen with musical instrument paraphernalia — plectrums, guitar strings and the like — along with household items such as aspirin, chewing gum, a torch, crisps, biscuits, tissues and cigarettes, of course. As the years went by, he had another piece of luggage, which he lovingly called his “dope bag”: a brown suede bag with an om sign prominently displayed, complete with freshly rolled joints.

This began after Bob Dylan dropped by their hotel in New York in 1964 during their first tour of North America. Not long after Dylan’s arrival, the Beatles offered their guest a sample from their motley collection of pills — Drinamyls and Preludin (both uppers), mostly. But Dylan wasn’t having it, instead suggesting “something a little more organic”. At first, Brian Epstein demurred, sensing the Beatles’ apprehension.

That’s when Dylan said, “But what about your song — the one about getting high?” At that, he began singing the middle eight from I Want to Hold Your Hand: “And when I touch you, I get high, I get high.”

John quickly interjected: “Those aren’t the words. It’s ‘I can’t hide, I can’t hide’.”

Ringo tried Dylan’s marijuana first. A few puffs from Dylan’s joint left him smiling and suddenly marvelling at the way the ceiling seemed to float down onto him. Soon, they were all stoned. George recalled that, “We were just legless, aching from laughter.” And for Paul especially, the Beatles’ first brush with the devil weed seemed not only mind-blowing, but a moment of great import. To him, it felt exactly like the kind of experience that should be captured for posterity. Having dutifully provided his roadie with a pencil and paper, Paul ordered him to, “Get it down, Mal, get it down!” Despite being quite stoned in his own right, Mal managed to record the Beatle’s most insightful thoughts. The next morning, Mal retrieved the musings, which boiled down to a single sentence: “There are seven levels,” his notes read. Roadie? Bodyguard? Fixer? Now Mal could add “amanuensis” to his evolving portfolio.

AS EARLY AS 1963, it was clear that there was an unusual zeal among Beatles fans, one unbounded by the conventional social behaviours of the day. “As if attacked by a virus that changed their moral standards, teenage girls wanted sex with the Beatles and they didn’t care how they got it,” wrote Tony Bramwell, Brian Epstein’s assistant. “When they tried to grab a live one, crawl through windows or hide in wardrobes, they were sorted out by Mal and Neil Aspinall like M&Ms, to be sampled and tasted first. Brian — who was puritanical where his protégés were concerned — would have had a fit had he only known, but he was kept totally in the dark.”

At its height, the stage and its environs would take on the look of a battle zone. “Unconscious teenagers were being dragged out of the audience,” Mal wrote, describing a gig in San Francisco in 1965, “and we hauled them on to the stage for safety. Some were in a terrible state, bruised, battered, cut and unconscious. Their clothing was torn and their hair dishevelled. We put them backstage, where the casualties mounted into the hundreds as the show went on. A chain of policemen organised to get them to the first aid centre.” At one critical juncture, a fan hurled a metal folding chair onstage. Eventually, the situation became simply too dangerous for the band to continue. “It’s no good,” Brian was told. “You’ll have to cut the show. Only one more song.”

As the casualties mounted, Mal prepared to usher the Beatles to safety. “Sobbing girls lay slumped against the walls or huddled in the corners,” he wrote, “and I caught a glimpse of Joan Baez trying to revive some of them with smelling salts. Every artist in the show was backstage helping out and trying to get the fainting youngsters back on their feet.”

When the concert mercifully ended, the Beatles dropped their instruments, ran from the stage and climbed into an enclosed freight truck to make their escape. Afterwards, “Pandemonium broke out in the auditorium,” Mal wrote, “and I thought the whole place was going to collapse around us. But somehow, the police managed to keep the tide at bay, all the exit doors were thrown open and people were hustled out. The scene behind them was of devastation, with seats overturned, people still trying to get onto the stage and more people fainting.”

By the next morning, the Beatles and their entourage were winging their way back to London. But the perils of the band’s second North American tour would not be so quickly forgotten. For his part, Brian Epstein would chalk up the chaos and violence to lax security. But it was more than that, Mal realised. He had long felt that there was a dark side to Beatlemania, that not all the attendant hysteria could be understood as the simple byproduct of fandom.

Meanwhile, as the tours mounted up, for Mal the sudden availability of sex, seemingly free from consequences, represented an irresistible bonanza. After a lifetime of self-doubt over body issues and inveterate shyness, he simply couldn’t control himself.

“Big Mal was a demon for sex,” Tony wrote. “His stamina would have been remarkable in a harem. In the flat, sooty back streets of Birmingham or Manchester, he was a stud straight from the Kama Sutra. Like sacrificial virgins, a lot of the girls willingly accepted that they would have to do it with Mal to get to John, Paul, George or Ringo, and Mal knew it.”

Years later, John would liken the Beatles tours to Fellini’s Satyricon, suggesting that their worldbeating jaunts were a fantasia of sexual decadence. Lloyd Ravenscroft, the Australian tour manager, confirmed that the band members “had girls in their room, yes. That was in the hands of Mal Evans, who was very good at picking the right girls. It was very discreet and well organised.”

Mal became “a suave and smooth procurer”, in the words of Larry Kane, a broadcast journalist who was embedded with the band on one of their US tours, “able to spot a target with incredible intuition. It was as though he could pick up on the scent of women who were willing. Only rarely did I see him alone in a hotel corridor. At least his flair for recruiting included an understanding of the difficulties the Beatles could face if any female companion was underage or wronged in any way. If one could get an Oscar for safely procuring women, Mal Evans would have received the lifetime achievement award.”

Back home, Mal’s reunions with Lil and Gary were tempered by the infrequency of his correspondence and by the odd scraps of paper his wife had discovered in his suitcase — addresses and telephone numbers, invariably written in a feminine hand, from the “pen pals” he would meet on the road. Mal brushed off their significance, but Lil knew better. “It used to break my heart,” she recalled.

By 1968 — a year in which he had tried in vain to remake himself as a record executive — Lily’s mistrust of her husband had reached a fever pitch. By this point, she wasn’t just finding “silly groupie letters” in his suitcase, but also the occasional stray pair of knickers and other telltale signs of infidelity. She recognised that Mal was being seduced by overwhelming forces, impulses with which she could hardly begin to compete. “One minute he would be in Hollywood,” she said. “The next day he’d be back here cleaning out the rabbit hutch.”

Mal had emerged as a celebrity in his own right, thanks to publications such as The Beatles Book. “It was OK for him,” Neil Aspinall recalled, “going out in front getting the instruments ready. Dead popular he was. As they cheered and shouted at him he talked to them and made jokes. He didn’t have to physically fight them off, once it started.”

All shook up: the Fab Four meet Elvis

ON THE NIGHT OF AUGUST 27, 1965, Mal and the boys met Elvis Presley at the King’s Bel Air mansion. The 30-year-old superstar was in town to shoot the film Paradise, Hawaiian Style.

Prior to his coveted meeting with the King, Mal spent time with Colonel Tom Parker at his Paramount Studios office, where the roadie was lavished with gifts, including a gold-plated cigarette lighter and, to his glee, a white bathrobe emblazoned with “Girls! Girls! Girls!”. Mal not only appreciated Parker’s generosity, but recognised that he possessed “one of the most astute showbiz brains in America”, adding that, “He has wrung every dollar he can out of the Elvis situation — and who can blame him?”

As Mal was lounging in the Colonel’s office that day, the telephone rang. “That was a news agency, Mal,” Parker said. “It looks as though word has got out about Elvis and the boys meeting tonight. There’s a story in the London Daily Mirror. Now Reuters wants confirmation.” At that moment, Mal’s heart froze. “For a moment, I thought Parker was going to call the whole thing off.”

But the Colonel wasn’t to be deterred. With the so-called Memphis Mafia — a group of Presley friends and employees who served and protected the King — at his beck and call, Elvis’s manager instigated a complex system by which they changed vehicles several times before arriving at Benedict Canyon. As the Colonel looked on, Mal, Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ press agent Tony Barrow and the Beatles ducked into a black limo. “For once,” Mal later quipped, “John, George, Paul and Ringo were ready to leave on time, and they climbed into the waiting cars at the bungalow bang on the dot.” Shouting, “Roll ’em!” out of his car window, the Colonel’s vehicle snaked its way through Hollywood, the convoy followed by a police motorcycle unit. By 10pm, the motorcade had arrived at Elvis’s house at Perugia Way. Incredibly, the Colonel’s plan had worked.

Mal was beside himself, feeling a combination of reverence and utter shock. After being served a large Scotch and Coke by one of the King’s minions, Paul beckoned Mal to meet his idol in the flesh. “Presley turned, and we shook hands. ‘This is your number-one fan, El,’ said Paul. ‘And he’s with us.’” Mal was thunderstruck by the sound of the King’s “strangely quiet voice” as he said, “Sure pleased to meet you,” to the roadie.

As the evening progressed, Mal marvelled at Elvis’s luxurious home, with its well-stocked cocktail bar and lounge, its thickly carpeted rooms, and, in the den, a massive fireplace with a copper chimney disappearing into the ceiling at the centre of the room. “Pretty soon the record player was working full blast,” Mal wrote. “Elvis played a whole lot of albums, many of them the Beatles, but modestly, perhaps, did not play any of his own. The noise was terrific, the drinks were flowing, the talk was animated, and, as I say, it was just like being at home with the lads from Liverpool.”

Eventually, Elvis picked up a bass guitar that was plugged into an amp positioned near the television set. “He began to strum away on the thing, playing quite ably, but he insisted that he was only learning,” Mal wrote. “Keep practising, fella. You’ll get to the top yet,” Paul quipped. As Mal looked on, “the most fantastic impromptu unrecorded session of all time” ensued when “El found some guitars for John, George and Paul and a set of bongo drums for Ringo, and they began to make the place rock with an hour of improvised beat music. It was fabulous.”

“There was only one hitch during the little concert the boys put on,” Mal later reflected. Nobody had a plectrum. “Mal’s got a pick,” said Paul. “He’s always got picks. He carries them on holidays with him.” Crestfallen that he had neglected to bring his well-travelled doctor’s bag, along with its ready supply of guitar picks, Mal scurried to the kitchen, where he fashioned pieces of plastic cutlery into makeshift plectrums.

Ringo and Mal tried their hand at pool, losing four straight games to members of the Memphis Mafia, while, “John lost $9 at roulette with Colonel Parker and Brian Epstein, who had joined us on getting back from New York.” In one of Mal’s favourite memories of that night, John pretended to be a reporter.

“Once, when I was talking to El, sitting on a settee, John came screaming up to us and jabbed an imaginary microphone under El’s nose and began to fire off a string of meaningless questions — which I must say were a pretty accurate take-off of some of the daft things that interviewers ask at our own press conferences. ‘What are you going to do when the bubble bursts, Elvis?’ he asked. ‘What toothpaste do you use? What time do you go to bed? Do you like girls? Who’s your favourite artist?’ ‘Yeah, yeah,’ chuckled El. ‘I’ve heard ’em all before.’”

Escaping from guns and a mob in Manila

ON THE MORNING OF JULY 3, 1966, the Beatles and their entourage left for the Philippines by way of Hong Kong. “Manila was our next port of call on our way back to England,” Mal later remembered, “and it was here, for the first time in my life, I was to experience real fear.” As it turned out, things were cockeyed from the outset. After attending their usual post-arrival press conference, John, Paul, George and Ringo were hustled out of a rear entrance and taken to the harbour, where they were ushered aboard a motor yacht.

“It was really humid, it was Mosquito City,” George reported, “and we were all sweating and frightened. For the first time ever in our Beatle existence, we were cut off from Neil, Mal and Brian Epstein. There was not one of them around, and not only that, but we had a whole row of cops with guns lining the deck around this cabin that we were in on the boat. We were really gloomy, very brought down by the whole thing.”

Things would get worse. After Brian succeeded in securing the Beatles’ return to the mainland, they ensconced themselves in the opulent Manila Hotel for the night. What the members of the band’s entourage didn’t know was that the Beatles had received an invitation from Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos requesting their appearance at Malacanang Palace at 11 o’clock the next morning. Only, Brian and the Beatles never laid eyes on it. After an incident in America, at the British embassy in Washington, in February 1964, when the band felt they had been snubbed by upper class, titled guests, official requests for the Beatles’ presence were routinely ignored. Instead, the group went about their business in Manila, performing the first of two shows for 35,000 spectators at José Rizal Memorial Stadium and another audience of 50,000 later that same day.

For the moment, the band and their entourage hadn’t felt any blowback from having snubbed the First Lady, save for scathing news reports on Filipino TV. That night, the promoter arranged for a lavish party at the hotel, with numerous prostitutes on hand to cater to the boys’ needs. On the morning of July 5, Mal began to sense trouble when a pistolpacking member of the promoter’s staff requested autographed pictures of the Beatles. “I was in the middle of explaining that I had given away most of the photographs,” Mal wrote, “keeping a few for the plane crew on the way home, when I was cut short by the same gentleman brandishing a gun in my face and repeating the demand. I couldn’t give them to him fast enough. This was the prelude to a morning of terror.”

Mal could feel the tension rising as he sought out a truck to transport the luggage and gear to the airport. “The feeling in the air was that nobody wanted to be associated with us,” he wrote. “On arriving at the airport, I was informed by the police on duty that I couldn’t park near the airline gate, but in the normal parking area like ordinary people. Their attitude being, ‘Who do you think you are?’” When the band and their entourage arrived at the airport, Mal discovered that no one would help them, save for the KLM airline attendants, who processed their baggage.

Everything went to hell when they began making their way to the international lounge, only to be intercepted by a dozen Filipinos. “It was obvious that they were looking to cause trouble, and quite prepared to beat the hell out of us, because of the fiasco the previous evening with the First Lady,” Mal wrote. “They were standing on our toes, jabbing us with elbows, generally giving us a bad time, and the last thing we could do was hit back. Up to that point, they were just a nuisance and making us feel very uncomfortable. I would give my right arm for any of those boys, but under these circumstances, it was most inadvisable to retaliate in any way whatsoever.”

It was chauffeur Alf Bicknell who could no longer contain himself. Daring to strike back at the assailants, he was viciously attacked, ending up flat on the airport floor with a pair of cracked ribs. Despite his large size, Mal sustained numerous blows, as did Ringo, who was knocked down with a swift uppercut and crawled away as assailants kicked him. Things seemed to get worse as the group approached customs, where John and George were punched and kicked. Paul managed to avoid the brunt of the violence by sprinting ahead. Along with Alf, Brian suffered the most, sustaining a sprained ankle during the mêlée. At one point, Mal realised he was bleeding from his leg.

Mal would never forget the surrealness of walking across the tarmac after the violence they had experienced in the terminal. The ruffians were still in evidence, hurling insults and epithets as the Brits made their way to the waiting KLM plane. But the fans were there too, shouting, “We love you, Beatles!” and tossing bouquets of flowers at their feet.

Once on board the plane, Mal wrote, “We all gave a sigh of relief, thinking we were safe on neutral territory. We were all shaking, beads of fear running down our faces.” That’s when immigration officials boarded the plane, demanding that Mal and Tony Bramwell follow them back to the terminal.

In the immigration office, they found themselves once again at the whimsy of the mob, being jostled, pushed and shoved as officials demanded they fill out new immigration forms. As TV crews recorded their every move, the two struggled to complete the forms, their hands visibly shaking in terror. And then, just like that, they were being led back to the plane, once again experiencing a strange gauntlet of violence and insults on the one hand and the goodwill of the assembled Beatles fans on the other. After some 40 intense minutes away from their friends, Mal and Tony were back in their seats. “The last words we heard before the doors closed were, ‘We love you, Beatles,’” Mal wrote.

Mal Evans died on January 4, 1976. He was shot by the police in a California apartment as he brandished a rifle, having taken a suspected Valium overdose. His diaries and memorabilia lay on the floor next to him.

Extracted from Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack (Mudlark, £25), published on November 14. 

(source)

[xneontragedyx]

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The Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) rulemaking has concluded. The PROWAG final rule has been published in the Federal Register. Please visit the Access Board’s PROWAG page for the guidelines.

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U.S. Access Board

Advancing Full Access and Inclusion for All

Information and Communication Technology

Revised 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines

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About the ICT Accessibility 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines

These standards address access to information and communication technology (ICT) under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act charges the Access Board with developing and promulgating this rule. The statute also charges the Access Board with providing Technical Assistance on Section 508, which is provided through webinars, trainings, and in close collaboration with GSA and materials available from Section508.gov.

Section 508 requires access to ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies. Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also operate as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents. The Section 508 Standards, which are part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ensure access for people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.

The Section 255 Guidelines cover telecommunications equipment and customer-premises equipment — such as telephones, cell phones, routers, set-top boxes, and computers with modems, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol products, and software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment.

Background

February 3, 1998 – The Board publishes the original Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines.

December 21, 2000 – The Board issues the original Section 508 Standards.

July 6, 2006 – The Board organizes TEITAC, the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee, to assist in updating the Section 508 Standards and Telecommunications Act Guidelines.

April 3, 2008 – The Advisory Committee presents its final report to the Board.

March 22, 2010 – The Board releases a draft proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2010-0001.

December 8, 2011 – The Board issues a revised draft proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2011-0007.

February 27, 2015 – The Board ICT proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2015-0002.

January 18, 2017 – The Board issues the final rule, docket ATBCB-2015-0002-014.

January 22, 2018 – The Board issues correction to the final rule to restore provisions for TTY access, docket document ATBCB-2015-0002-0146.

Additional Resources

Section508.gov — GSA’s Government-wide IT Accessibility Program

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794d)

Final Regulatory Impact Analysis (FRIA)

Comparison Table of WCAG 2.0 to Original 508 Standards

Mapping of WCAG 2.0 to Functional Performance Criteria

ICT Testing Baseline for Web Accessibility

Appendix A to Part 1194 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

508 Chapter 1: Application and Administration

E101 General

E101.1 Purpose

These Revised 508 Standards, which consist of 508 Chapters 1 and 2 (Appendix A), along with Chapters 3 through 7 (Appendix C), contain scoping and technical requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) to ensure accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities. Compliance with these standards is mandatory for Federal agencies subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d).

E101.2 Equivalent Facilitation

The use of an alternative design or technology that results in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revised 508 Standards is permitted. The functional performance criteria in Chapter 3 shall be used to determine whether substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability is provided to individuals with disabilities.

E101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances

Dimensions are subject to conventional industry tolerances except where dimensions are stated as a range with specific minimum or maximum end points.

E101.4 Units of Measurement

Measurements are stated in metric and U.S. customary units. The values stated in each system (metric and U.S. customary units) may not be exact equivalents, and each system shall be used independently of the other.

E102 Referenced Standards

E102.1 Application

The specific editions of the standards listed in Chapter 7 are incorporated by reference into 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements) and Chapters 3 through 6 to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where conflicts occur between the Revised 508 Standards and the referenced standards, these Revised 508 Standards apply.

E103 Definitions

E103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards

Terms defined in referenced standards and not defined in E103.4 shall have the meaning as defined in the referenced standards.

E103.2 Undefined Terms

Any term not defined in E103.4 or in referenced standards shall be given its ordinarily accepted meaning in the sense that the context implies.

E103.3 Interchangeability

Words, terms, and phrases used in the singular include the plural and those used in the plural include the singular.

E103.4 Defined Terms

For the purpose of the Revised 508 Standards, the terms defined in E103.4 have the indicated meaning.

Agency

Any agency or department of the United States as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502, and the United States Postal Service.

Alteration

A change to existing ICT that affects interoperability, the user interface, or access to information or data.

Application.

Software designed to perform, or to help the user to perform, a specific task or tasks.

Assistive Technology (AT)

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Audio Description.

Narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Audio description is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content essential for comprehension. Audio description of video provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text, and other visual content. Audio description supplements the regular audio track of a program. Audio description is usually added during existing pauses in dialogue. Audio description is also called “video description” and “descriptive narration”.

Authoring Tool

Any software, or collection of software components, that can be used by authors, alone or collaboratively, to create or modify content for use by others, including other authors.

Closed Functionality

Characteristics that limit functionality or prevent a user from attaching or installing assistive technology. Examples of ICT with closed functionality are self-service machines, information kiosks, set-top boxes, fax machines, calculators, and computers that are locked down so that users may not adjust settings due to a policy such as Desktop Core Configuration.

Content

Electronic information and data, as well as the encoding that defines its structure, presentation, and interactions.

Document

Logically distinct assembly of content (such as a file, set of files, or streamed media) that: functions as a single entity rather than a collection; is not part of software; and does not include its own software to retrieve and present content for users. Examples of documents include, but are not limited to, letters, email messages, spreadsheets, presentations, podcasts, images, and movies.

Existing ICT

ICT that has been procured, maintained or used on or before January 18, 2018.

Hardware

A tangible device, equipment, or physical component of ICT, such as telephones, computers, multifunction copy machines, and keyboards.

Information Technology

Shall have the same meaning as the term “information technology” set forth in 40 U.S.C. 11101(6).

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to: computers and peripheral equipment; information kiosks and transaction machines; telecommunications equipment; customer premises equipment; multifunction office machines; software; applications; Web sites; videos; and, electronic documents.

Keyboard

A set of systematically arranged alphanumeric keys or a control that generates alphanumeric input by which a machine or device is operated. A keyboard includes tactilely discernible keys used in conjunction with the alphanumeric keys if their function maps to keys on the keyboard interfaces.

Label

Text, or a component with a text alternative, that is presented to a user to identify content. A label is presented to all users, whereas a name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many cases, the name and the label are the same.

Menu

A set of selectable options.

Name

Text by which software can identify a component to the user. A name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many cases, the label and the name are the same. Name is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.

Non-Web Document

A document that is not: a Web page, embedded in a Web page, or used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Non-Web Software

Software that is not: a Web page, not embedded in a Web page, and not used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Operable Part

Hardware-based user controls for activating, deactivating, or adjusting ICT.

Platform Accessibility Services

Services provided by a platform enabling interoperability with assistive technology. Examples are Application Programming Interfaces (API) and the Document Object Model (DOM).

Platform Software

Software that interacts with hardware or provides services for other software. Platform software may run or host other software, and may isolate them from underlying software or hardware layers. A single software component may have both platform and non-platform aspects. Examples of platforms are: desktop operating systems; embedded operating systems, including mobile systems; Web browsers; plug-ins to Web browsers that render a particular media or format; and sets of components that allow other applications to execute, such as applications which support macros or scripting.

Programmatically Determinable

Ability to be determined by software from author-supplied data that is provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present the information to users in different modalities.

Public Facing

Content made available by an agency to members of the general public. Examples include, but are not limited to, an agency Web site, blog post, or social media pages.

Real-Time Text (RTT)

Communications using the transmission of text by which characters are transmitted by a terminal as they are typed. Real-time text is used for conversational purposes. Real-time text also may be used in voicemail, interactive voice response systems, and other similar application.

Revised 508 Standards

The standards for ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as set forth in 508 Chapters 1 and 2 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix A), and Chapters 3 through 7 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix C).

Software

Programs, procedures, rules, and related data and documentation that direct the use and operation of ICT and instruct it to perform a given task or function. Software includes, but is not limited to, applications, non-Web software, and platform software.

Software Tools

Software for which the primary function is the development of other software. Software tools usually come in the form of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and are a suite of related products and utilities. Examples of IDEs include Microsoft® Visual Studio®, Apple® Xcode®, and Eclipse Foundation Eclipse®.

Telecommunications

The signal transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

Terminal

Device or software with which the end user directly interacts and that provides the user interface. For some systems, the software that provides the user interface may reside on more than one device such as a telephone and a server.

Text

A sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined and that expresses something in human language.

TTY

Equipment that enables interactive text based communications through the transmission of frequency-shift-keying audio tones across the public switched telephone network. TTYs include devices for real-time text communications and voice and text intermixed communications. Examples of intermixed communications are voice carry over and hearing carry over. One example of a TTY is a computer with TTY emulating software and modem.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)

Non-interactive electronic signs with scrolling, streaming, or paging-down capability. An example of a VMS is an electronic message board at a transit station that displays the gate and time information associated with the next train arrival.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

A technology that provides real-time voice communications. VoIP requires a broadband connection from the user’s location and customer premises equipment compatible with Internet protocol.

Web page

A non-embedded resource obtained from a single Universal Resource Identifier (URI) using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) plus any other resources that are provided for the rendering, retrieval, and presentation of content.

508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements

E201 Application

E201.1 Scope

ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202 General Exceptions

E202.1 General

ICT shall be exempt from compliance with the Revised 508 Standards to the extent specified by E202.

E202.2 Legacy ICT

Any component or portion of existing ICT that complies with an earlier standard issued pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (as republished in Appendix D), and that has not been altered on or after January 18, 2018, shall not be required to be modified to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.3 National Security Systems

The Revised 508 Standards do not apply to ICT operated by agencies as part of a national security system, as defined by 40 U.S.C. 11103(a).

E202.4 Federal Contracts

ICT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.5 ICT Functions Located in Maintenance or Monitoring Spaces

Where status indicators and operable parts for ICT functions are located in spaces that are frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment, such status indicators and operable parts shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.6 Undue Burden or Fundamental Alteration

Where an agency determines in accordance with E202.6 that conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards would impose an undue burden or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, conformance shall be required only to the extent that it does not impose an undue burden, or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.6.1 Basis for a Determination of Undue Burden

In determining whether conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards would impose an undue burden on the agency, the agency shall consider the extent to which conformance would impose significant difficulty or expense considering the agency resources available to the program or component for which the ICT is to be procured, developed, maintained, or used.

E202.6.2 Required Documentation

The responsible agency official shall document in writing the basis for determining that conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards constitute an undue burden on the agency, or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT. The documentation shall include an explanation of why and to what extent compliance with applicable requirements would create an undue burden or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.6.3 Alternative Means

Where conformance to one or more requirements in the Revised 508 Standards imposes an undue burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

E202.7 Best Meets

Where ICT conforming to one or more requirements in the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall procure the ICT that best meets the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

E202.7.1 Required Documentation

The responsible agency official shall document in writing: (a) the non-availability of conforming ICT, including a description of market research performed and which provisions cannot be met, and (b) the basis for determining that the ICT to be procured best meets the requirements in the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

E202.7.2 Alternative Means

Where ICT that fully conforms to the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

E203 Access to Functionality

E203.1 General

Agencies shall ensure that all functionality of ICT is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, either directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology, and shall comply with E203. In providing access to all functionality of ICT, agencies shall ensure the following:

That Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and

That members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or data from a Federal agency have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

E203.2 User Needs

When agencies procure, develop, maintain or use ICT they shall identify the needs of users with disabilities to determine:

How users with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the ICT; and

How the ICT will be developed, installed, configured, and maintained to support users with disabilities.

E204 Functional Performance Criteria

E204.1 General

Where the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 do not address one or more functions of ICT, the functions not addressed shall conform to the Functional Performance Criteria specified in Chapter 3.

E205 Electronic Content

E205.1 General

Electronic content shall comply with E205.

E205.2 Public Facing

Electronic content that is public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4.

E205.3 Agency Official Communication

Electronic content that is not public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4 when such content constitutes official business and is communicated by an agency through one or more of the following:

An emergency notification;

An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding;

An internal or external program or policy announcement;

A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action;

A formal acknowledgement of receipt;

A survey questionnaire;

A template or form;

Educational or training materials; or

Intranet content designed as a Web page.

EXCEPTION: Records maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to Federal recordkeeping statutes shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards unless public facing.

E205.4 Accessibility Standard

Electronic content shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

E205.4.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents

For non-Web documents, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “document” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page”. In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in a document” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page”.

E206 Hardware

E206.1 General

Where components of ICT are hardware and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 4.

E207 Software

E207.1 General

Where components of ICT are software and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to E207 and the requirements in Chapter 5.

EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5.

E207.2 WCAG Conformance

User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTIONS:

Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to E207.2.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0.

E207.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software

For non-Web software, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “software” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page”. In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in software” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

E207.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software

Where non-Web software requires multiple steps to accomplish an activity, all software related to the activity to be accomplished shall conform to WCAG 2.0 as specified in E207.2.

E208 Support Documentation and Services

E208.1 General

Where an agency provides support documentation or services for ICT, such documentation and services shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 6.

Appendix B to Part 1194 – Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

255 Chapter 1: Application and Administration

C101 General

C101.1 Purpose

These Revised 255 Guidelines, which consist of 255 Chapters 1 and 2 (Appendix B), along with Chapters 3 through 7 (Appendix C), contain scoping and technical requirements for the design, development, and fabrication of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, content, and support documentation and services, to ensure accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities. These Revised 255 Guidelines are to be applied to the extent required by regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission under Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 255).

C101.2 Equivalent Facilitation

The use of an alternative design or technology that results in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revised 255 Guidelines is permitted. The functional performance criteria in Chapter 3 shall be used to determine whether substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability is provided to individuals with disabilities.

C101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances

Dimensions are subject to conventional industry tolerances except where dimensions are stated as a range with specific minimum or maximum end points.

C101.4 Units of Measurement

Measurements are stated in metric and U.S. customary units. The values stated in each system (metric and U.S. customary units) may not be exact equivalents, and each system shall be used independently of the other.

C102 Referenced Standards

C102.1 Application

The specific editions of the standards listed in Chapter 7 are incorporated by reference into 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements) and Chapters 3 through 6 to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where conflicts occur between the Revised 255 Guidelines and the referenced standards, these Revised 255 Guidelines apply.

C103 Definitions

C103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards

Terms defined in referenced standards and not defined in C103.4 shall have the meaning as defined in the referenced standards.

C103.2 Undefined Terms

Any term not defined in C103.4 or in referenced standards shall be given its ordinarily accepted meaning in the sense that the context implies.

C103.3 Interchangeability

Words, terms, and phrases used in the singular include the plural and those used in the plural include the singular.

C103.4 Defined Terms

For the purpose of the Revised 255 Guidelines, the terms defined in C103.4 have the indicated meaning.

Application

Software designed to perform, or to help the user perform, a specific task or tasks.

Assistive Technology (AT)

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Audio Description

Narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Audio description is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content essential for comprehension. Audio description of video provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text, and other visual content. Audio description supplements the regular audio track of a program. Audio description is usually added during existing pauses in dialogue. Audio description is also called “video description” and “descriptive narration.”

Authoring Tool

Any software, or collection of software components, that can be used by authors, alone or collaboratively, to create or modify content for use by others, including other authors.

Closed Functionality

Characteristics that limit functionality or prevent a user from attaching or installing assistive technology.

Content

Electronic information and data, as well as the encoding that defines its structure, presentation, and interactions.

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)

Equipment used on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service, including software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment. Examples of CPE are telephones, routers, switches, residential gateways, set-top boxes, fixed mobile convergence products, home networking adaptors and Internet access gateways which enable consumers to access communications service providers’ services and distribute them around their house via a Local Access Network (LAN).

Document

Logically distinct assembly of content (such as a file, set of files, or streamed media) that: functions as a single entity rather than a collection; is not part of software; and does not include its own software to retrieve and present content for users. Examples of documents include, but are not limited to, letters, email messages, spreadsheets, presentations, podcasts, images, and movies.

Hardware

A tangible device, equipment, or physical component of ICT, such as telephones, computers, multifunction copy machines, and keyboards.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content.

Keyboard

A set of systematically arranged alphanumeric keys or a control that generates alphanumeric input by which a machine or device is operated. A keyboard includes tactilely discernible keys used in conjunction with the alphanumeric keys if their function maps to keys on the keyboard interfaces.

Label

Text, or a component with a text alternative, that is presented to a user to identify content. A label is presented to all users, whereas a name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many cases, the name and the label are the same.

Manufacturer

A final assembler of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment that sells such equipment to the public or to vendors that sell to the public.

Menu

A set of selectable options.

Name

Text by which software can identify a component to the user. A name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many cases, the label and the name are the same. Name is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.

Non-Web Document

A document that is not: a Web page, embedded in a Web page, or used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Non-Web Software

Software that is not: a Web page, not embedded in a Web page, and not used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Operable Part

Hardware-based user controls for activating, deactivating, or adjusting ICT.

Platform Accessibility Services

Services provided by a platform enabling interoperability with assistive technology. Examples are Application Programming Interfaces (API) and the Document Object Model (DOM).

Platform Software

Software that interacts with hardware or provides services for other software. Platform software may run or host other software, and may isolate them from underlying software or hardware layers. A single software component may have both platform and non-platform aspects. Examples of platforms are: desktop operating systems; embedded operating systems, including mobile systems; Web browsers; plug-ins to Web browsers that render a particular media or format; and sets of components that allow other applications to execute, such as applications which support macros or scripting.

Programmatically Determinable

Ability to be determined by software from author-supplied data that is provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present the information to users in different modalities.

Real-Time Text (RTT)

Communications using the transmission of text by which characters are transmitted by a terminal as they are typed. Real-time text is used for conversational purposes. Real-time text also may be used in voicemail, interactive voice response systems, and other similar application.

Revised 255 Guidelines

The guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act as set forth in 255 Chapters 1 and 2 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix B), and Chapters 3 through 7 (36 CFR part 1193, Appendix C).

Software

Programs, procedures, rules, and related data and documentation that direct the use and operation of ICT and instruct it to perform a given task or function. Software includes, but is not limited to, applications, non-Web software, and platform software.

Software Tools

Software for which the primary function is the development of other software. Software tools usually come in the form of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and are a suite of related products and utilities. Examples of IDEs include Microsoft® Visual Studio®, Apple® Xcode®, and Eclipse Foundation Eclipse®

Specialized Customer Premises Equipment

Assistive technology used by individuals with disabilities to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications or interconnected VoIP service. Examples are TTYs and amplified telephones.

Telecommunications

The signal transmission between or among points specified by the user of information and of the user’s choosing without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

Telecommunications Equipment

Equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a carrier to provide telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service and includes software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment.

Terminal

Device or software with which the end user directly interacts and that provides the user interface. For some systems, the software that provides the user interface may reside on more than one device such as a telephone and a server.

Text

A sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined and that expresses something in human language.

TTY

Equipment that enables interactive text based communications through the transmission of frequency-shift-keying audio tones across the public switched telephone network. TTYs include devices for real-time text communications and voice and text intermixed communications. Examples of intermixed communications are voice carry over and hearing carry over. One example of a TTY is a computer with TTY emulating software and modem.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)

Non-interactive electronic signs with scrolling, streaming, or paging-down capability. An example of a VMS is an electronic message board at a transit station that displays the gate and time information associated with the next train arrival.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

A technology that provides real-time voice communications. VoIP requires a broadband connection from the user’s location and customer premises equipment compatible with Internet protocol.

Web page

A non-embedded resource obtained from a single Universal Resource Identifier (URI) using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) plus any other resources that are provided for the rendering, retrieval, and presentation of content.

255 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements

C201 Application

C201.1 Scope

Manufacturers shall comply with the requirements in the Revised 255 Guidelines applicable to telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment (and related software integral to the operation of telecommunications functions) when newly released, upgraded, or substantially changed from an earlier version or model. Manufacturers shall also conform to the requirements in the Revised 255 Guidelines for support documentation and services, including electronic documents and Web-based product support.

C201.2. Readily Achievable

When a manufacturer determines that conformance to one or more requirements in Chapter 4 (Hardware) or Chapter 5 (Software) would not be readily achievable, it shall ensure that the equipment or software is compatible with existing peripheral devices or specialized customer premises equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to the extent readily achievable.

C201.3 Access to Functionality

Manufacturers shall ensure that telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities by providing direct access to all telecommunications functionality. Where manufacturers can demonstrate that it is not readily achievable for such equipment to provide direct access to all functionality, the equipment shall support the use of assistive technology and specialized customer premises equipment where readily achievable.

C201.4 Prohibited Reduction of Accessibility, Usability, and Compatibility

No change shall be undertaken that decreases, or has the effect of decreasing, the net accessibility, usability, or compatibility of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment.

EXCEPTION: Discontinuation of a product shall not be prohibited.

C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication

Manufacturers shall evaluate the accessibility, usability, and interoperability of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment during its product design, development, and fabrication.

C202 Functional Performance Criteria

C202.1 General

Where the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 do not address one or more functions of telecommunications or customer premises equipment, the functions not addressed shall conform to the Functional Performance Criteria specified in Chapter 3.

C203 Electronic Content

C203.1 General

Electronic content that is integral to the use of telecommunications or customer premises equipment shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

C203.1.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents

For non-Web documents, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “document’ shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page.” In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in a document” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

C204 Hardware

C204.1 General

Where components of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment are hardware, and transmit information or have a user interface, those components shall conform to applicable requirements in Chapter 4.

EXCEPTION: Components of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment shall not be required to conform to 402, 407.7, 407.8, 408, 412.8.4, and 415.

C205 Software

C205.1 General

Where software is integral to the use of telecommunications functions of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment and has a user interface, such software shall conform to C205 and applicable requirements in Chapter 5.

EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5.

C205.2 WCAG Conformance

User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTIONS:

Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to C205.2.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0.

C205.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software

For non-Web software, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “software” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page.” In addition, in Success Criterion 1.4.2, the phrase “in software” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

C205.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software

Where non-Web software requires multiple steps to accomplish an activity, all software related to the activity to be accomplished shall conform to WCAG 2.0 as specified in C205.2.

C206 Support Documentation and Services

C206.1 General

Where support documentation and services are provided for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, manufacturers shall ensure that such documentation and services conform to Chapter 6 and are made available upon request at no additional charge.

Appendix C to Part 1194 – Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements

Chapter 3: Functional Performance Criteria

301 General

301.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 3 shall apply to ICT where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

302 Functional Performance Criteria

302.1 Without Vision

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user vision.

302.2 With Limited Vision

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited vision.

302.3 Without Perception of Color

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one visual mode of operation that does not require user perception of color.

302.4 Without Hearing

Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user hearing.

302.5 With Limited Hearing

Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited hearing.

302.6 Without Speech

Where speech is used for input, control, or operation, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user speech.

302.7 With Limited Manipulation

Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous manual operations.

302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength

Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that is operable with limited reach and limited strength.

302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities

ICT shall provide features making its use by individuals with limited cognitive, language, and learning abilities simpler and easier.

Chapter 4: Hardware

401 General

401.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 4 shall apply to ICT that is hardware where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

EXCEPTION: Hardware that is assistive technology shall not be required to conform to the requirements of this chapter.

402 Closed Functionality

402.1 General

ICT with closed functionality shall be operable without requiring the user to attach or install assistive technology other than personal headsets or other audio couplers, and shall conform to 402.

402.2 Speech-Output Enabled

ICT with a display screen shall be speech-output enabled for full and independent use by individuals with vision impairments.

EXCEPTIONS:

Variable message signs conforming to 402.5 shall not be required to be speech-output enabled.

Speech output shall not be required where ICT display screens only provide status indicators and those indicators conform to 409.

Where speech output cannot be supported due to constraints in available memory or processor capability, ICT shall be permitted to conform to 409 in lieu of 402.2.

Audible tones shall be permitted instead of speech output where the content of user input is not displayed as entered for security purposes, including, but not limited to, asterisks representing personal identification numbers.

Speech output shall not be required for: the machine location; date and time of transaction; customer account number; and the machine identifier or label.

Speech output shall not be required for advertisements and other similar information unless they convey information that can be used for the transaction being conducted.

402.2.1 Information Displayed On-Screen

Speech output shall be provided for all information displayed on-screen.

402.2.2 Transactional Outputs

Where transactional outputs are provided, the speech output shall audibly provide all information necessary to verify a transaction.

402.2.3 Speech Delivery Type and Coordination

Speech output shall be delivered through a mechanism that is readily available to all users, including, but not limited to, an industry standard connector or a telephone handset. Speech shall be recorded or digitized human, or synthesized. Speech output shall be coordinated with information displayed on the screen.

402.2.4 User Control

Speech output for any single function shall be automatically interrupted when a transaction is selected. Speech output shall be capable of being repeated and paused.

402.2.5 Braille Instructions

Where speech output is required by 402.2, braille instructions for initiating the speech mode of operation shall be provided. Braille shall be contracted and shall conform to 36 CFR part 1191, Appendix D, Section 703.3.1.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 402.2.5.

402.3 Volume

ICT that delivers sound, including speech output required by 402.2, shall provide volume control and output amplification conforming to 402.3.

EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 412.2 shall not be required to conform to 402.3.

402.3.1 Private Listening

Where ICT provides private listening, it shall provide a mode of operation for controlling the volume. Where ICT delivers output by an audio transducer typically held up to the ear, a means for effective magnetic wireless coupling to hearing technologies shall be provided.

402.3.2 Non-private Listening

Where ICT provides non-private listening, incremental volume control shall be provided with output amplification up to a level of at least 65 dB. A function shall be provided to automatically reset the volume to the default level after every use.

402.4 Characters on Display Screens

At least one mode of characters displayed on the screen shall be in a sans serif font. Where ICT does not provide a screen enlargement feature, characters shall be 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) high minimum based on the uppercase letter “I”. Characters shall contrast with their background with either light characters on a dark background or dark characters on a light background.

402.5 Characters on Variable Message Signs

Characters on variable message signs shall conform to section 703.7 Variable Message Signs of ICC A117.1-2009 (incorporated by reference, see 702.6.1).

403 Biometrics

403.1 General

Where provided, biometrics shall not be the only means for user identification or control.

EXCEPTION: Where at least two biometric options that use different biological characteristics are provided, ICT shall be permitted to use biometrics as the only means for user identification or control.

404 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility

404.1 General

ICT that transmits or converts information or communication shall not remove non-proprietary information provided for accessibility or shall restore it upon delivery.

405 Privacy

405.1 General

The same degree of privacy of input and output shall be provided to all individuals. When speech output required by 402.2 is enabled, the screen shall not blank automatically.

406 Standard Connections

406.1 General

Where data connections used for input and output are provided, at least one of each type of connection shall conform to industry standard non-proprietary formats.

407 Operable Parts

407.1 General

Where provided, operable parts used in the normal operation of ICT shall conform to 407.

407.2 Contrast

Where provided, keys and controls shall contrast visually from background surfaces. Characters and symbols shall contrast visually from background surfaces with either light characters or symbols on a dark background or dark characters or symbols on a light background.

407.3 Input Controls

At least one input control conforming to 407.3 shall be provided for each function.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use with input controls that are audibly discernable without activation and operable by touch shall not be required to conform to 407.3.

407.3.1 Tactilely Discernible

Input controls shall be operable by touch and tactilely discernible without activation.

407.3.2 Alphabetic Keys

Where provided, individual alphabetic keys shall be arranged in a QWERTY-based keyboard layout and the “F” and “J” keys shall be tactilely distinct from the other keys.

407.3.3 Numeric Keys

Where provided, numeric keys shall be arranged in a 12-key ascending or descending keypad layout. The number five key shall be tactilely distinct from the other keys. Where the ICT provides an alphabetic overlay on numeric keys, the relationships between letters and digits shall conform to ITU-T Recommendation E.161 (incorporated by reference, see 702.7.1).

407.4 Key Repeat

Where a keyboard with key repeat is provided, the delay before the key repeat feature is activated shall be fixed at, or adjustable to, 2 seconds minimum.

407.5 Timed Response

Where a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted visually, as well as by touch or sound, and shall be given the opportunity to indicate that more time is needed.

407.6 Operation

At least one mode of operation shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum.

407.7 Tickets, Fare Cards, and Keycards

Where tickets, fare cards, or keycards are provided, they shall have an orientation that is tactilely discernible if orientation is important to further use of the ticket, fare card, or keycard.

407.8 Reach Height and Depth

At least one of each type of operable part of stationary ICT shall be at a height conforming to 407.8.2 or 407.8.3 according to its position established by the vertical reference plane specified in 407.8.1 for a side reach or a forward reach. Operable parts used with speech output required by 402.2 shall not be the only type of operable part complying with 407.8 unless that part is the only operable part of its type.

407.8.1 Vertical Reference Plane

Operable parts shall be positioned for a side reach or a forward reach determined with respect to a vertical reference plane. The vertical reference plane shall be located in conformance to 407.8.2 or 407.8.3.

407.8.1.1 Vertical Plane for Side Reach

Where a side reach is provided, the vertical reference plane shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) long minimum.

graphical representation of dimensions for vertical plane side reach

407.8.1.2 Vertical Plane for Forward Reach

Where a forward reach is provided, the vertical reference plane shall be 30 inches (760 mm) long minimum.

graphical representation of dimensions for vertical plane forward reach

407.8.2 Side Reach

Operable parts of ICT providing a side reach shall conform to 407.8.2.1 or 407.8.2.2. The vertical reference plane shall be centered on the operable part and placed at the leading edge of the maximum protrusion of the ICT within the length of the vertical reference plane. Where a side reach requires a reach over a portion of the ICT, the height of that portion of the ICT shall be 34 inches (865 mm) maximum.

407.8.2.1 Unobstructed Side Reach

Where the operable part is located 10 inches (255 mm) or less beyond the vertical reference plane, the operable part shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor.

graphical representation of dimensions for unobstructed side reach

407.8.2.2 Obstructed Side Reach

Where the operable part is located more than 10 inches (255 mm), but not more than 24 inches (610 mm), beyond the vertical reference plane, the height of the operable part shall be 46 inches (1170 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor. The operable part shall not be located more than 24 inches (610 mm) beyond the vertical reference plane.

graphical representation of dimensions for obstructed side reach

407.8.3 Forward Reach

Operable parts of ICT providing a forward reach shall conform to 407.8.3.1 or 407.8.3.2. The vertical reference plane shall be centered, and intersect with, the operable part. Where a forward reach allows a reach over a portion of the ICT, the height of that portion of the ICT shall be 34 inches (865 mm) maximum.

407.8.3.1 Unobstructed Forward Reach

Where the operable part is located at the leading edge of the maximum protrusion within the length of the vertical reference plane of the ICT, the operable part shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor.

graphical representation of dimensions for unobstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2 Obstructed Forward Reach

Where the operable part is located beyond the leading edge of the maximum protrusion within the length of the vertical reference plane, the operable part shall conform to 407.8.3.2. The maximum allowable forward reach to an operable part shall be 25 inches (635 mm).

graphical representation of dimensions for obstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2.1 Operable Part Height for ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach

The height of the operable part shall conform to Table 407.8.3.2.1.

Table 407.8.3.2.1 Operable Part Height for ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach Reach Depth Operable Part Height

Less than 20 inches (510 mm) 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum

20 inches (510 mm) to 25 inches (635 mm) 44 inches (1120 mm) maximum

graphical representation of dimensions for operable part height for obstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2.2 Knee and Toe Space under ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach

Knee and toe space under ICT shall be 27 inches (685 mm) high minimum, 25 inches (635 mm) deep maximum, and 30 inches (760 mm) wide minimum and shall be clear of obstructions.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach

EXCEPTIONS:

Toe space shall be permitted to provide a clear height of 9 inches (230 mm) minimum above the floor and a clear depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exception one

At a depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT, space between 9 inches (230 mm) and 27 inches (685 mm) minimum above the floor shall be permitted to reduce at a rate of 1 inch (25 mm) in depth for every 6 inches (150 mm) in height.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exception two

Supplemental graphic combining both Exceptions 1 and 2:

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exceptions one and two

408 Display Screens

408.1 General

Where provided, display screens shall conform to 408.

408.2 Visibility

Where stationary ICT provides one or more display screens, at least one of each type of display screen shall be visible from a point located 40 inches (1015 mm) above the floor space where the display screen is viewed.

408.3 Flashing

Where ICT emits lights in flashes, there shall be no more than three flashes in any one-second period.

EXCEPTION: Flashes that do not exceed the general flash and red flash thresholds defined in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) are not required to conform to 408.3.

409 Status Indicators

409.1 General

Where provided, status indicators shall be discernible visually and by touch or sound.

410 Color Coding

410.1 General

Where provided, color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.

411 Audible Signals

411.1 General

Where provided, audible signals or cues shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, or prompting a response

412 ICT with Two-Way Voice Communication

412.1 General

ICT that provides two-way voice communication shall conform to 412.

412.2 Volume Gain

ICT that provides two-way voice communication shall conform to 412.2.1 or 412.2.2.

412.2.1 Volume Gain for Wireline Telephones

Volume gain conforming to 47 CFR 68.317 shall be provided on analog and digital wireline telephones.

412.2.2 Volume Gain for Non-Wireline ICT

A method for increasing volume shall be provided for non-wireline ICT.

412.3 Interference Reduction and Magnetic Coupling

Where ICT delivers output by a handset or other type of audio transducer that is typically held up to the ear, ICT shall reduce interference with hearing technologies and provide a means for effective magnetic wireless coupling in conformance with 412.3.1 or 412.3.2.

412.3.1 Wireless Handsets

ICT in the form of wireless handsets shall conform to ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011 (incorporated by reference, see 702.5.1).

412.3.2 Wireline Handsets

ICT in the form of wireline handsets, including cordless handsets, shall conform to TIA-1083-B (incorporated by reference, see702.9.1).

412.4 Digital Encoding of Speech

ICT in IP-based networks shall transmit and receive speech that is digitally encoded in the manner specified by ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2 (incorporated by reference, see 702.7.2) or IETF RFC 6716 (incorporated by reference, see 702.8.1).

412.5 Real-Time Text Functionality

[Reserved].

412.6 Caller ID

Where provided, caller identification and similar telecommunications functions shall be visible and audible.

412.7 Video Communication

Where ICT provides real-time video functionality, the quality of the video shall be sufficient to support communication using sign language.

412.8 Legacy TTY Support

ICT equipment or systems with two-way voice communication that do not themselves provide TTY functionality shall conform to 412.8.

412.8.1 TTY Connectability

ICT shall include a standard non-acoustic connection point for TTYs.

412.8.2 Voice and Hearing Carry Over

ICT shall provide a microphone capable of being turned on and off to allow the user to intermix speech with TTY use.

412.8.3 Signal Compatibility

ICT shall support all commonly used cross-manufacturer non-proprietary standard TTY signal protocols where the system interoperates with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

412.8.4 Voice Mail and Other Messaging Systems

Where provided, voice mail, auto-attendant, interactive voice response, and caller identification systems shall be usable with a TTY.

413 Closed Caption Processing Technologies

413.1 General

Where ICT displays or processes video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide closed caption processing technology that conforms to 413.1.1 or 413.1.2.

413.1.1 Decoding and Display of Closed Captions

Players and displays shall decode closed caption data and support display of captions.

413.1.2 Pass-Through of Closed Caption Data

Cabling and ancillary equipment shall pass through caption data.

414 Audio Description Processing Technologies

414.1 General

Where ICT displays or processes video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide audio description processing technology conforming to 414.1.1 or 414.1.2.

414.1.1 Digital Television Tuners

Digital television tuners shall provide audio description processing that conforms to ATSC A/53 Digital Television Standard, Part 5 (2014) (incorporated by reference, see 702.2.1). Digital television tuners shall provide processing of audio description when encoded as a Visually Impaired (VI) associated audio service that is provided as a complete program mix containing audio description according to the ATSC A/53 standard.

414.1.2 Other ICT

ICT other than digital television tuners shall provide audio description processing.

415 User Controls for Captions and Audio Descriptions

415.1 General

Where ICT displays video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions conforming to 415.1.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 415.1 provided that captions and audio descriptions can be enabled through system-wide platform settings.

415.1.1 Caption Controls

Where ICT provides operable parts for volume control, ICT shall also provide operable parts for caption selection.

415.1.2 Audio Description Controls

Where ICT provides operable parts for program selection, ICT shall also provide operable parts for the selection of audio description.

Chapter 5: Software

501 General

501.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 5 shall apply to software where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

EXCEPTION: Where Web applications do not have access to platform accessibility services and do not include components that have access to platform accessibility services, they shall not be required to conform to 502 or 503 provided that they conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology

502.1 General

Software shall interoperate with assistive technology and shall conform to 502.

EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 402 shall not be required to conform to 502.

502.2 Documented Accessibility Features

Software with platform features defined in platform documentation as accessibility features shall conform to 502.2.

502.2.1 User Control of Accessibility Features

Platform software shall provide user control over platform features that are defined in the platform documentation as accessibility features.

502.2.2 No Disruption of Accessibility Features

Software shall not disrupt platform features that are defined in the platform documentation as accessibility features.

502.3 Accessibility Services

Platform software and software tools that are provided by the platform developer shall provide a documented set of accessibility services that support applications running on the platform to interoperate with assistive technology and shall conform to 502.3. Applications that are also platforms shall expose the underlying platform accessibility services or implement other documented accessibility services.

502.3.1 Object Information

The object role, state(s), properties, boundary, name, and description shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.2 Modification of Object Information

States and properties that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.3 Row, Column, and Headers

If an object is in a data table, the occupied rows and columns, and any headers associated with those rows or columns, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.4 Values

Any current value(s), and any set or range of allowable values associated with an object, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.5 Modification of Values

Values that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.6 Label Relationships

Any relationship that a component has as a label for another component, or of being labeled by another component, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.7 Hierarchical Relationships

Any hierarchical (parent-child) relationship that a component has as a container for, or being contained by, another component shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.8 Text

The content of text objects, text attributes, and the boundary of text rendered to the screen, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.9 Modification of Text

Text that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.10 List of Actions

A list of all actions that can be executed on an object shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.11 Actions on Objects

Applications shall allow assistive technology to programmatically execute available actions on objects.

502.3.12 Focus Cursor

Applications shall expose information and mechanisms necessary to track focus, text insertion point, and selection attributes of user interface components.

502.3.13 Modification of Focus Cursor

Focus, text insertion point, and selection attributes that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through the use of assistive technology.

502.3.14 Event Notification

Notification of events relevant to user interactions, including but not limited to, changes in the component’s state(s), value, name, description, or boundary, shall be available to assistive technology.

502.4 Platform Accessibility Features

Platforms and platform software shall conform to the requirements in ANSI/HFES 200.2, Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces — Part 2: Accessibility (2008) (incorporated by reference, see 702.4.1) listed below:

Section 9.3.3 Enable sequential entry of multiple (chorded) keystrokes;

Section 9.3.4 Provide adjustment of delay before key acceptance;

Section 9.3.5 Provide adjustment of same-key double-strike acceptance;

Section 10.6.7 Allow users to choose visual alternative for audio output;

Section 10.6.8 Synchronize audio equivalents for visual events;

Section 10.6.9 Provide speech output services; and

Section 10.7.1 Display any captions provided.

503 Applications

503.1 General

Applications shall conform to 503.

503.2 User Preferences

Applications shall permit user preferences from platform settings for color, contrast, font type, font size, and focus cursor.

EXCEPTION: Applications that are designed to be isolated from their underlying platform software, including Web applications, shall not be required to conform to 503.2.

503.3 Alternative User Interfaces

Where an application provides an alternative user interface that functions as assistive technology, the application shall use platform and other industry standard accessibility services.

503.4 User Controls for Captions and Audio Description

Where ICT displays video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions conforming to 503.4.

503.4.1 Caption Controls

Where user controls are provided for volume adjustment, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of captions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

503.4.2 Audio Description Controls

Where user controls are provided for program selection, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of audio descriptions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

504 Authoring Tools

504.1 General

Where an application is an authoring tool, the application shall conform to 504 to the extent that information required for accessibility is supported by the destination format.

504.2 Content Creation or Editing

Authoring tools shall provide a mode of operation to create or edit content that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) for all supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool. Authoring tools shall permit authors the option of overriding information required for accessibility.

EXCEPTION: Authoring tools shall not be required to conform to 504.2 when used to directly edit plain text source code.

504.2.1 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility in Format Conversion

Authoring tools shall, when converting content from one format to another or saving content in multiple formats, preserve the information required for accessibility to the extent that the information is supported by the destination format.

504.2.2 PDF Export

Authoring tools capable of exporting PDF files that conform to ISO 32000-1:2008 (PDF 1.7) shall also be capable of exporting PDF files that conform to ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1:2016 (PDF/UA-1) (incorporated by reference, see 702.3.1).

504.3 Prompts

Authoring tools shall provide a mode of operation that prompts authors to create content that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) for supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool.

504.4 Templates

Where templates are provided, templates allowing content creation that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) shall be provided for a range of template uses for supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool.

Chapter 6: Support Documentation and Services

601 General

601.1 Scope

The technical requirements in Chapter 6 shall apply to ICT support documentation and services where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

602 Support Documentation

602.1 General

Documentation that supports the use of ICT shall conform to 602.

602.2 Accessibility and Compatibility Features

Documentation shall list and explain how to use the accessibility and compatibility features required by Chapters 4 and 5. Documentation shall include accessibility features that are built-in and accessibility features that provide compatibility with assistive technology.

602.3 Electronic Support Documentation

Documentation in electronic format, including Web-based self-service support, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

602.4 Alternate Formats for Non-Electronic Support Documentation

Where support documentation is only provided in non-electronic formats, alternate formats usable by individuals with disabilities shall be provided upon request.

603 Support Services

603.1 General

ICT support services including, but not limited to, help desks, call centers, training services, and automated self-service technical support, shall conform to 603.

603.2 Information on Accessibility and Compatibility Features

ICT support services shall include information on the accessibility and compatibility features required by 602.2.

603.3 Accommodation of Communication Needs

Support services shall be provided directly to the user or through a referral to a point of contact. Such ICT support services shall accommodate the communication needs of individuals with disabilities.

Chapter 7: Referenced Standards

701 General

701.1 Scope

The standards referenced in Chapter 7 shall apply to ICT where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

702 Incorporation by Reference

702.1 Approved IBR Standards

The Director of the Office of the Federal Register has approved these standards for incorporation by reference into this part in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies of the referenced standards may be inspected at the U.S. Access Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 272-0080, and may also be obtained from the sources listed below. They are also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202–741–6030 or go to National Archives Code of Federal Regulations Incorporation by Reference.

702.2 Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Advanced Television Systems Committee, 1776 K Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006–2304.

702.2.1 ATSC A/53 Part 5:2014

Digital Television Standard, Part 5—AC-3 Audio System Characteristics, August 28, 2014.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 414.1.1.

702.3 Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from AIIM, 1100 Wayne Ave., Ste. 1100, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

702.3.1 ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1-2016

Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1), ANSI-approved February 8, 2016.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 504.2.2.

702.4 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, P.O. Box 1369, Santa Monica, CA 90406–1369.

702.4.1 ANSI/HFES 200.2

Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces — Part 2: Accessibility, copyright 2008.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 502.4.

702.5 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, P.O. Box 3014, Los Alamitos, CA 90720–1264.

702.5.1 ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011

American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications Devices and Hearing Aids, May 27, 2011.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.1.

702.6 International Code Council (ICC)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from ICC Publications, 4051 W. Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478–5795.

702.6.1 ICC A117.1-2009

Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, approved October 20, 2010.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 402.5.

702.7 International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T)

Copies of the referenced standards may be obtained from the International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunications Standardization Sector, Place des Nations CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland.

702.7.1 ITU-T Recommendation E.161

Series E. Overall Network Operation, Telephone Service, Service Operation and Human Factors—International operation - Numbering plan of the international telephone service, Arrangement of digits, letters and symbols on telephones and other devices that can be used for gaining access to a telephone network, February 2001.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 407.3.3.

702.7.2 ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2

Series G. Transmission Systems and Media, Digital Systems and Networks – Digital terminal equipment – Coding of analogue signals by methods other than PCM, Wideband coding of speech at around 16 kbit/s using Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), July 2003.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.4.

702.8 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Internet Engineering Task Force.

702.8.1 IETF RFC 6716

Definition of the Opus Codec, September 2012, J.M. Valin, Mozilla Corporation, K. Vos, Skype Technologies S.A., T. Terriberry, Mozilla Corporation.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.4.

702.9 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

Copies of the referenced standard, published by the Telecommunications Industry Association, may be obtained from IHS Markit, 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, CO 80112.

702.9.1 TIA-1083-B

Telecommunications—Communications Products—Handset Magnetic Measurement Procedures and Performance Requirements, October 2015.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.2.

702.10 Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Room 32-G515, Cambridge, MA 02139.

702.10.1 WCAG 2.0

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, W3C Recommendation, December 11, 2008.

IBR approved for: Appendix A (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), Sections E205.4, E205.4 Exception, E205.4.1, E207.2, E207.2 Exception 2, E207.2 Exception 3, E207.2.1, E207.3; Appendix B (Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), C203.1, C203.1 Exception, C203.1.1, C205.2, C205.2 Exception 2, C205.2 Exception 3, C205.2.1, C205.3; and Appendix C (Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements), 408.3 Exception, 501.1 Exception, 504.2, 504.3, 504.4, and 602.3.

Appendix D to Part 1194: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards as Originally Published on December 21, 2000

[65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017]

Subpart A — General

§ D1194.1 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to implement section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

§ D1194.2 Application.

(a) Products covered by this part shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part. When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each agency shall ensure that the products comply with the applicable provisions of this part, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

(1) When compliance with the provisions of this part imposes an undue burden, agencies shall provide individuals with disabilities with the information and data involved by an alternative means of access that allows the individual to use the information and data.

(2) When procuring a product, if an agency determines that compliance with any provision of this part imposes an undue burden, the documentation by the agency supporting the procurement shall explain why, and to what extent, compliance with each such provision creates an undue burden.

(b) When procuring a product, each agency shall procure products which comply with the provisions in this part when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a Government solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product as a whole is not commercially available because no product in the marketplace meets all the standards. If products are commercially available that meet some but not all of the standards, the agency must procure the product that best meets the standards.

(c) Except as provided by §1194.3(b), this part applies to electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies directly or used by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product.

§ 1194.3 General exceptions.

(a) This part does not apply to any electronic and information technology operated by agencies, the function, operation, or use of which involves intelligence activities, cryptologic activities related to national security, command and control of military forces, equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system, or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions. Systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions do not include a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications).

(b) This part does not apply to electronic and information technology that is acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract.

(c) Except as required to comply with the provisions in this part, this part does not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device at a workstation of a Federal employee who is not an individual with a disability.

(d) When agencies provide access to the public to information or data through electronic and information technology, agencies are not required to make products owned by the agency available for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public, or to purchase products for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public.

(e) This part shall not be construed to require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or its components.

(f) Products located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment are not required to comply with this part.

§ D1194.4 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this part:

Agency

Any Federal department or agency, including the United States Postal Service.

Alternate formats

Alternate formats usable by people with disabilities may include, but are not limited to, Braille, ASCII text, large print, recorded audio, and electronic formats that comply with this part.

Alternate methods

Different means of providing information, including product documentation, to people with disabilities. Alternate methods may include, but are not limited to, voice, fax, relay service, TTY, Internet posting, captioning, text-to-speech synthesis, and audio description.

Assistive technology

[dataproviderindia]

Candle Manufacturers in India [Top 4 Manufacturers]

Candles are one of the many consumer goods that will never go out of fashion. Whether as a gift or a part of home decor, they give off an unmatched elegant ambiance. Candles can be made from a variety of materials, including soy wax or beeswax, and come in a variety of forms, colors, containers, designs, and cruelty- and chemical-free variants.

Many candle manufacturers in India have their own separate catalog of products in different colors, forms, and fragrances. Some may even collaborate with you during the concept/design process to create custom candles for you and/or your business.

Original Source: https://knowledgekablog.wixsite.com/knowledgekablog/post/candle-manufacturers-in-india-top-4-manufacturers 

The following list contains details about the top candle manufacturers in India, along with where they can be found.

1. Shri Ram Sons Wax Private Limited

Shri Ram Sons Wax Private Limited is a well-known manufacturer of carbon paper, precision molding, and telecommunication equipment, in addition to being a candle manufacturer in India. They also serve as a manufacturer, distributor, and exporter of hydrocarbon wax and microcrystalline wax. The firm provides a wide range of goods, including candles with excellent plasticity, hardness, tolerance, and insulation. Moreover, their employees transport and deliver the candles to the specified locations within a stipulated time frame.

2. Candlescube

This candle manufacturer in India makes high-quality candles at reasonable prices. Their catalog includes custom candles, column candles, paraffin wax candles, and scented candles. Their goods are made from 100% pure and highly processed paraffin wax by skilled artisans and craftsmen. Candlescube aims to empower women by training them in invaluable skills like candle making, agarbatti making, etc.

3. Prem Oil Company

Prem Oil Company specializes in offering a diverse range of waxes. As an eight-decade-old company, this candle manufacturer in India has a large pan-India and global supply chain. They are known to procure wax from some of the recognized producers of the country to prepare items as per the industry standards. Their waxes are eco-friendly and come in white and yellow tones.

4. Global Glory

The products of this candle manufacturer in India can be found on the shelves of many renowned retailers in India and beyond. They allow customers to customize their orders to meet any need. This ease and know-how stems from the company’s focus on technology, in its constant effort to excel in ever-improving execution and layout.

Note: If you are looking for top company databases related to the paint manufacturing industry and business purposes,. 77Data provides you with a high-quality and updated database for your business growth. Here we have listed some of the best data lists. For download, click on the text links.

list of manufacturing industries | list of manufacturing companies in coimbatore | list of companies in delhi  

[chipsonsale]

NSN 5960-00-028-3558: A Crucial Component in High-Power Electronic Systems

Precision and reliability define the backbone of advanced electronic systems, especially in military, aerospace, and industrial applications. One such critical component is NSN 5960-00-028-3558, a vacuum tube known for its high-performance capabilities in signal amplification and power transmission. Its continued relevance in various industries highlights its indispensable nature, making sourcing a reliable supplier essential for seamless operations.

What is NSN 5960-00-028-3558?

NSN 5960-00-028-3558 corresponds to a vacuum tube, a key electronic device used to amplify, switch, or modify electrical signals. While modern solid-state components have largely replaced vacuum tubes in consumer electronics, they remain vital in applications requiring extreme durability, high voltage handling, and superior performance. These tubes are widely utilized in military radar systems, communication equipment, and industrial machinery, where precision and stability are crucial.

The Importance of NSN 5960-00-028-3558

The reliability and efficiency of NSN 5960-00-028-3558 make it indispensable in numerous applications, including:

Military and Defense Systems – Essential for high-frequency signal processing in secure communication networks.

Aerospace Navigation and Radar Equipment – Provides stable and accurate radar transmission for air and space operations.

Broadcasting and Telecommunication Infrastructure – Ensures high-power signal amplification in radio and television networks.

Industrial Power Systems – Used in large-scale automation and control systems requiring robust electronic components.

Scientific Research and Testing Laboratories – Supports specialized high-energy experiments and advanced research instruments.

With the increasing demand for durable and high-performance electronic components, NSN 5960-00-028-3558 remains a key part of mission-critical applications worldwide.

Industries That Depend on NSN 5960-00-028-3558

1. Military and Aerospace Operations

In defense systems, reliable electronic components can make a significant impact on national security. NSN 5960-00-028-3558 plays a crucial role in military communication devices, radar guidance systems, and avionics, ensuring optimal performance even in extreme conditions.

2. Broadcasting and Telecommunications

Vacuum tubes are still used in high-power transmission systems where solid-state alternatives cannot match their durability. NSN 5960-00-028-3558 enhances signal clarity and stability in broadcasting networks and telecommunications infrastructure.

3. Industrial and Scientific Applications

From automated manufacturing to high-energy physics research, vacuum tubes support sophisticated electronic setups. NSN 5960-00-028-3558 is vital in industries that rely on stable signal modulation and high-powered amplification.

Reliable Sourcing of NSN 5960-00-028-3558 with ChipsOnSale.com

Finding authentic and high-quality vacuum tubes like NSN 5960-00-028-3558 is essential for businesses and organizations that rely on precision electronics. ChipsOnSale.com simplifies the procurement process by offering a trusted source for military, aerospace, and industrial components.

Why Choose ChipsOnSale.com?

Diverse Inventory – Stocking a broad range of NSNs, including 5960-00-028-3558, to meet industry demands.

Certified Quality – Sourcing from reputable manufacturers ensures performance, longevity, and reliability.

Global Distribution – Supplying industries worldwide with essential components for mission-critical applications.

Fast and Efficient Logistics – Quick order processing and shipping to reduce downtime and enhance operational efficiency.

Conclusion

Whether it's for defense, broadcasting, industrial automation, or scientific research, NSN 5960-00-028-3558 remains an integral component in advanced electronic systems. With ChipsOnSale.com, businesses can confidently source this high-quality vacuum tube, ensuring uninterrupted operations and maximum efficiency.

For trusted procurement of NSN 5960-00-028-3558 and other essential electronic components, rely on ChipsOnSale.com, your premier source for precision-engineered solutions.

[cyberbenb]

NATO strengthens Baltic Sea security amid concerns over Russian sabotage

In a recent press conference in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed deep concern over ongoing damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.

"The latest incident involving an underwater cable in the Baltic Sea highlights the threat posed by Russia's 'shadow fleet," Scholz remarked during the joint briefing with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday, January 28.

Last weekend, a fiber-optic cable between Sweden and Latvia sustained serious damage.

During the press conference, Scholz announced that NATO's Baltic Sentry operation will strengthen protective measures for the Baltic Sea and critical seabed infrastructure. "NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective security," asserted the Chancellor.

He noted that multiple NATO countries have significantly increased their defense spending in recent years. "We unanimously agree that NATO's European pillar needs reinforcing and defense expenditures must rise," Scholz added.

Echoing Scholz's sentiments, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen highlighted Europe's need to do more to ensure its own security. "We need a stronger, more decisive Europe capable of defending itself and its interests," she stressed. Frederiksen also called for greater responsibility in advancing European defense industries.

"We require regulations that foster joint weapons development and procurement within the European Union," Scholz stated.

Previously, former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized European allies for what he perceived as inadequate defense spending, threatening to reconsider U.S. commitments to NATO unless European nations boosted their military budgets. Trump demanded that NATO countries allocate at least 5% of their GDP to defense, up from the current minimum of 2%.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, multiple incidents damaging significant telecommunications and energy cables in the Baltic Sea have been reported. Experts suspect these are hybrid attacks are orchestrated by Russia.

In response to these alleged sabotage acts, NATO has announced expanded patrols in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sentry mission involves deploying military ships, reconnaissance aircraft, satellites, and drones.

Russia's 'shadow fleet' is the primary suspect in connection with these cable damages. This fleet consists of outdated vessels often operating under the flags of other countries. It's believed that the fleet is utilized by Russia to bypass the Western oil embargo imposed due to the Ukraine conflict.

Scholz and Frederiksen, during the Berlin press conference, emphasized the ongoing need to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

"We must amplify our support for Ukraine. We need to counter the influence of China and Russia. And we must invest in technological development, our economy, and our security," underscored the Danish Prime Minister.

[telcobroker]

Comparing Telecom Providers: Key Tips for Smart Procurement Contracts

Learn how to choose the best telecom service providers by understanding key factors like pricing, network reliability, and contract terms. This guide simplifies the complex world of telecommunications procurement and highlights common pitfalls to avoid, ensuring your business gets the most reliable and cost-effective services. Learn More:

[global-research-report]

Advancements in Compound Semiconductor Materials: Market Dynamics and Growth Forecast

The global compound semiconductor materials market size is expected to reach 46.9 million by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2020 to 2027. The market is expected to be driven by an increase in product demand from the end-use industries due to its ability to consume less power, along with the broad temperature range and high electron mobility.

The expansion of China’s integrated circuit production is expected to have a positive impact on market growth. China is expected to witness substantial growth of over 10% in the production by 2023, thereby becoming one of the largest manufacturers in Asia. However, the drop in the production of the semiconductor industry across the globe due to the COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have an adverse impact on the demand for compound semiconductor materials.

Manufacturers are largely dependent on reliable suppliers having high goodwill on account of past product procurement, making it difficult for new entrants to penetrate into the market. In addition, the market exhibits the presence of several well-established players with a strong financial base, thereby limiting the entry of new market players.

The market exhibits high industry rivalry owing to the presence of a large number of manufacturing firms in the marketspace. However, there is an ongoing struggle among these players to capitalize on the novel avenues for growth. The presence of a number of companies in the market results in a high level of competition, which, in turn, has elevated the competitive rivalry.

Compound Semiconductor Materials Market Report Highlights

By product, group III-V compound semiconductor materials are estimated to reach USD 25.1 million by 2027 owing to their higher power efficiency and unique optical properties, including excellent mobility and photon-electron conversion efficiency

The telecommunication application segment dominated the market in 2019 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to the extensive product use for communication devices

Asia Pacific is estimated to register the fastest CAGR in terms of revenue owing to the surge in demand for semiconductors for electronic devices, driven by an increase in per capita income and rapid industrialization in the region

Taiwan is expected to emerge as a key consumer over the forecast period owing to the presence of some of the few largest integrated circuit manufacturers in the region

Key players are focused on the expansion of production capacity in order to cater to the rising product demand.

Compound Semiconductor Materials Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global compound semiconductor materials market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Compound Semiconductor Materials Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Group IV-IV

Group III-V

Group II-VI

Compound Semiconductor Materials Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Electronics & Consumer Goods

Aerospace & Defense

Telecommunication

Others

Compound Semiconductor Materials Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

North America

The US

Canada

Europe

Germany

The UK

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Taiwan

Central & South America

Brazil

Middle East & Africa

Order a free sample PDF of the Compound Semiconductor Materials Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

[shreeramelectronics]

Double Sided PCB Manufacturers in India: Your Trusted Partner for Excellence

In today’s fast-evolving electronics industry, double-sided printed circuit boards (PCBs) play a pivotal role in powering complex devices and technologies. Our PCBs, with conductive layers on both sides, provide enhanced design flexibility, higher circuit density, and improved performance. If you’re searching for double sided PCB manufacturers in India, Shree Ram Electronics is your ideal partner for high-quality, innovative, and cost-effective solutions.

Why Double-Sided PCBs?

Double-sided PCBs are widely used in applications requiring medium to high complexity. By utilizing both sides of the board, designers can achieve a compact yet efficient layout, essential for industries like telecommunications, automotive, consumer electronics, and industrial automation. With components mounted on both sides, our PCBs support more connections and functionalities, making we indispensable for modern devices.

Why Choose us?

We take pride in being a leader among double sided PCB manufacturers in India. With years of unparalleled manufacturing experience, we specialize in providing end-to-end solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients.

Here’s what sets us apart:

High-Quality Standards: Our PCBs are crafted with precision using state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure durability and reliability.

Innovative Design Capabilities: Our expert team leverages cutting-edge technology to design PCBs that meet even the most demanding specifications.

Cost-Effective Solutions: We focus on delivering value without compromising on quality, making us a preferred choice for businesses seeking competitive pricing.

Comprehensive Support: From design to manufacturing and testing, we offer holistic services to streamline your project’s success.

Why Shree Ram Electronics Should Be Your Choice

Our company is committed to delivering high-quality, innovative, and cost-effective end-to-end electronics solutions to valuable customers. By leveraging our advanced manufacturing capabilities and design expertise, we ensure that every PCB we produce aligns with your exact needs.

Partnering with us means more than just procuring a product; it’s about building a relationship rooted in trust, reliability, and excellence.

Conclusion

When it comes to double sided PCB manufacturers in India, we stand out for its commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. Reach out to us today and let us help you bring your electronic projects to life with precision-engineered PCBs designed for excellence.

[apieinvestavimapaprastai]

Argan Inc.'s Stock Surge: Should You Buy Now?

Explore Argan Inc.'s growth potential. Learn why this leader could be a strategic addition to your investment portfolio. #Stockpriceforecasting #ArganInc #AGX #Investmentinsights #Marketanalysis #Powergeneration #Dividendpolicy #Growthpotential #NYSEAGX

Argan Inc. operates through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Gemma Power Systems (GPS) and Southern Maryland Cable (SMC). GPS provides a range of services to the power generation and renewable energy markets, including development, consulting, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, and maintenance. SMC offers telecommunications infrastructure services, including project…

[haccpcertificationinseychelles]

RoHS Certification: Ensuring Environmental Compliance

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive is a globally recognized standard that restricts the use of certain hazardous materials in electrical and electronic equipment. Initially developed by the European Union, RoHS has become a benchmark for sustainable manufacturing and environmental responsibility worldwide. In South Africa, RoHS certification is gaining momentum as industries align with global practices to ensure product safety, environmental sustainability, and market competitiveness.

This article explores the implementation of RoHS Certification in South Africa, the range of services available, and the critical role of RoHS consultants in achieving compliance.

RoHS Implementation in South Africa

South Africa’s commitment to environmental protection has made RoHS implementation increasingly relevant. Although the RoHS Directive is not a mandatory regulation in the country, many South African manufacturers, importers, and exporters adhere to its requirements to access global markets, especially in the EU.

The adoption of RoHS in South Africa primarily affects industries involved in manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). This includes sectors like consumer electronics, telecommunications, medical devices, and automotive components. Businesses must eliminate or significantly reduce the use of hazardous substances, such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), to comply with RoHS standards.

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and other regulatory bodies encourage voluntary adherence to RoHS to enhance sustainability and reduce electronic waste (e-waste) pollution. Many organizations also integrate RoHS Implementation in Bangalore with other environmental standards, such as ISO 14001, to strengthen their environmental management systems.

RoHS Services in South Africa

South Africa offers a robust ecosystem of services to help organizations meet RoHS compliance requirements. These services are tailored to address the unique challenges of the local industry while meeting international standards.

Testing and Certification

Accredited laboratories in South Africa provide RoHS testing to detect restricted substances in materials and components. Using advanced techniques like X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), these labs ensure accurate and reliable results. Once testing is complete, businesses can apply for RoHS certification, demonstrating their compliance to stakeholders and regulatory authorities.

Compliance Audits

Regular audits are critical to maintaining RoHS compliance. South African service providers conduct thorough inspections to assess supply chain practices, identify potential risks, and ensure adherence to RoHS directives. These audits often include a detailed review of procurement policies, manufacturing processes, and documentation.

Training and Awareness Programs

Education is a cornerstone of effective RoHS Services in Bahrain. Training programs offered by certification bodies and environmental organizations equip professionals with the knowledge and skills to implement and maintain RoHS standards. These programs often cover topics like restricted substance management, documentation requirements, and international regulatory trends.

RoHS Consultants in South Africa

Navigating the complexities of RoHS compliance can be challenging, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is where RoHS consultants play a vital role.

Expert Guidance

RoHS consultants in South Africa offer expert advice tailored to the specific needs of businesses. They help organizations understand the requirements of the directive, identify non-compliant materials, and develop strategies for substitution.

Streamlined Certification Process

Consultants simplify the certification process by coordinating with testing laboratories, ensuring proper documentation, and addressing any non-conformities. Their experience with local and international compliance standards allows businesses to achieve certification efficiently and cost-effectively.

Supply Chain Management

A critical aspect of RoHS compliance is ensuring that suppliers adhere to the directive. Consultants help organizations evaluate their supply chain, establish clear compliance expectations, and implement traceability systems to monitor material origins and compositions.

Conclusion

RoHS Registration in Uganda is a valuable step for businesses seeking to demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability and global market access. With a growing emphasis on reducing hazardous materials and promoting green manufacturing, RoHS compliance has become a strategic priority for many industries.

By leveraging the expertise of local service providers and consultants, South African organizations can streamline their RoHS implementation process, enhance their market reputation, and contribute to a healthier environment. Whether you’re an established manufacturer or an emerging startup, embracing RoHS standards is an investment in sustainable growth and international competitiveness.

[chipsonsale]

NSN 5960-00-114-4869: High-Performance Component for Versatile Applications

Explore NSN 5960-00-114-4869, a reliable solution for industries like aerospace, telecommunications, and healthcare. Trust ChipsOnSale.com for authentic components and seamless procurement services.