AT&T in The States has just released an iPhone data plan developed specifically for the deaf. It’s unclear why they weren’t organised enough to do this at the time of the iPhone launch, but my suspicions are that community pressure may have ‘encouraged’ them.
The Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) was designed with input from the community and provides more affordable access to communication services that the deaf and hearing impaired are likely to want.
For $40 USD, iPhone TAP customers will recieve:
- Unlimited SMS messages
- Unlimited data usage (email and web)
- $.40 per minute pay-per-use voice
- Visual VoiceMail
As AT&T are the exclusive providers of iPhone data services in The US, it’ll be interesting to see what Telstra Optus (thanks Jim!) and any of the other potential providers come up with when the iPhone is released in Australia this June.
Overall, it looks like a pretty reasonable deal, but I’m left wondering whether or not Apple will come out with an expensive hands free device / iPhone stand so that the Deaf can actually sign into it when video calls become available. We’ll have to wait and see…
The Apple site also provides some information on current iPhone accessibility features as well as a (pdf) Voluntary Product Accessibility Information document with more detailed accessibility information, including iPhone TTY access.
UPDATE
In order to qualify for the AT&T plan, the customer must submit an (pdf) application form which must be certified. The form states:
Certification of disability is required to process iPhone TAP applications. Applications received without certification will not be considered for enrollment in the iPhone TAP rate plan.
Certification of Disability Instructions:
A certifying agent must be a qualified health care professional, audiologist or hearing health professional, speech or language therapist/specialist, representative of an institution, agency or non-profit 510c3 organization actively engaged in work in the disability area specified by the applicant. A certifying agent must have direct knowledge or documentation of the applicant’s condition or functional limitation. Examples of certifying agents include licensed physicians and/or surgeons operating in the scope of their licenses, Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Counselors, Teachers, Audiologists, credentialed Therapists, Directors of independent living centers, or local, state, or national chapter presidents of associations of/for persons with disabilities including but not limited to: The National Association of the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America, AG Bell, Association of Late-Deafened Adults or Telecommunication for the Deaf, INC.
