Officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a U.S. government agency which regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable, visited the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) on September 18^th to answer patrons’ questions about telecommunications and broadcast matters.

It was a great opportunity for WTBBL’s patrons to get answers to questions such as: What do I do about unwanted robocalls? How can I keep my favorite television stations after the upcoming broadcast transition? Or whom should I complain to about telephone, television or cable issues?

There were 18 attendees, and 23 people joined via a Facebook Live streaming video. In-person presenters included Roger Goldblatt, Rebecca Lockhart, and Alma Hughes. Videoconferencing in from the FCC in Washington D.C. were Terry Pacheco and Will Schell.

The presenters discussed accessibility, consumer rights, and how telecommunications’ continuing evolution affects daily living. Several excellent questions were asked, including how personal technology such as walkie-talkies jockey for position in an ever-changing bandwidth, and the application of audio descriptions in television becoming more commonplace and uniform.

Television news reporters from KOMO and KING-5 were on hand to capture the event.