Technology Forum – February 2017
5G and People with Disabilities
February 16, 2017
Verizon, an AAPD Technology Forum partner, hosted the February 2017 meeting of the Technology “Tech” Forum and gave a presentation of the company’s interest in promoting 5G – the next generation of wireless communication. The topic for discussion at the Tech Forum meeting was the future of wireless. Participates focused on how wireless service could facilitate way-finding for people with disabilities navigating an unfamiliar landscape as they go about their day – taking meetings for work, shopping for groceries, or simply trying to find the right theater inside the local multiplex. The advocacy groups challenged companies working on the future of wireless to address these and other barriers people with disabilities encounter.
Uses for 5G Explained in 101 Seconds
The National Science Foundation announced last summer that it will lead a $400 million, seven year initiative to support fundamental wireless research and to develop platforms for advanced wireless research in support of the White House’s Advanced Wireless Research Initiative. The Advanced Wireless Research Initiative will sustain United States leadership in wireless communications and technology, which have become vital to our economic growth and development.
There is a great opportunity here for the development of a public-private partnership between industry and consumer groups to conduct research on how to address barriers to navigation that people with disabilities encounter.
Additional Resources and Information on 5G
- 5G by The Numbers – Digital Future Alliance (1/26/2017)
- New Frontiers: A Mobile First, 5G World – Digital Future Alliance (1/19/2017)
- Forging Our 5G Future – Federal Communications Commission (10/20/2016)
- Unlocking the Promise of Broadband for All Americans – The White House (7/15/2016)
- How 5G technology enables the health internet of things – Brookings Center for Technology Innovation (July 2016)
- What a world with 5G will look like – CNN (2/9/2016)
- The Next Generation of Wireless: 5G Leadership in the U.S. – CTIA (2/9/2016)
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The AAPD Technology Forum serves as a strategic meeting of national disability advocacy organizations and representatives from the technology industry with a mission to holistically drive and accelerate innovations to advance the interests of underrepresented groups. The accessibility of various technologies, devices, and applications continues to be an essential part of the forum’s deliberations.
