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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Fields: Accessibility, Security · Also called: information and communications technology, ICT

Information and communication technology (ICT) is an umbrella term for the technologies used to capture, store, retrieve, process, present, transfer, and secure data and information, from software and computing systems to networks and telecommunications. In accessibility, it is the term the U.S. Section 508 Standards and the W3C use for the full range of technology that accessibility requirements apply to, of which the web is one part.

NIST’s glossary records several definitions. One, from NISTIR 8074 Vol. 2, says ICT “encompasses all technologies for the capture, storage, retrieval, processing, display, representation, organization, management, security, transfer, and interchange of data and information.” The Committee on National Security Systems (CNSSI 4009-2022) lists examples: “microelectronics, printed circuit boards, computing systems, software, signal processors, mobile telephony, satellite communications, and networks.”

Usage in accessibility standards

  • Section 508. The U.S. Access Board publishes the revised Section 508 Standards under the title Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines. They apply WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA to electronic content, including non-web documents.
  • W3C. The W3C’s WCAG2ICT note, Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies, gives informative guidance on applying WCAG to documents and software that are not web pages. The W3C spells it communications, plural. Both forms are in use.

Distinctions

  • Versus web content. Web content is a subset of ICT. ADA Title II’s rule for state and local governments is written in terms of web content and mobile apps (28 CFR § 35.200), and reaches documents because it defines PDFs and Office files posted online as web content (28 CFR § 35.104). The same definition covers the “code or markup that defines the content’s structure, presentation, and interactions,” which includes web applications. See Document Accessibility.
  • Versus EIT. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act itself (29 U.S.C. § 794d) uses the term electronic and information technology, while the Access Board standards that implement it use ICT. See Electronic and Information Technology (EIT).
  • In cybersecurity. Outside accessibility, the term appears in federal security guidance, including NIST SP 800-161r1 on cybersecurity supply chain risk management, one of the sources the NIST glossary cites for its definition.

Sources

See also