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Access to Telecommunications Status Report June 2005

Access to Telecommunications Status Report  June 2005

Introduction

On November 28, 2003, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (The Commission) convened a one-day Forum to discuss issues that people with disabilities experience when accessing telecommunications products and services in Australia .

The Forum was organised as the result of a recommendation contained in a comprehensive discussion paper titled "When the Tide Comes In: Towards Accessible Telecommunications for People with Disabilities in Australia ". This paper had been researched and written for the Commission by William Jolley, an independent consultant with extensive experience in the fields of telecommunications and disability. The discussion paper included 26 recommendations, the first of which reads:

Recommendation 1: Accessible telecommunications forum

That HREOC should convene a high-level Accessible telecommunications Forum comprising representatives of policy and regulatory agencies, carriers and carriage service providers, equipment suppliers and consumers with disabilities. The purposes of the Forum might be:

A) Examine the recommendations made in this discussion paper and, if considered appropriate to do so, develop strategies for their implementation;

B) Monitor overseas trends of telecommunications policy, regulation and services, and identify examples of world's best practice that may be applicable in Australia ;

C) Maximise the accessibility of future telecommunications products, services and equipment for people with disabilities in Australia, by ensuring that accessibility is built into the design of new services and equipment, and that barriers such as affordability are removed; and

D) Examine other issues, not covered in this paper, raised from time to time by government, industry or consumer representatives.

The Forum was attended by a broad range of stakeholders from government, the telecommunications industry, and the disability sector. telecommunications access issues were considered under eight general topic areas, namely:

1. Text telephony

2. Public payphone accessibility and TTY payphones

3. Disability impact analysis for changes in technology

4. SMS pricing for Deaf users

5. Expansion of Section 593 Consumer Grants Program and R&D

6. Disability equipment program (including Mobile phones in DEP)

7. Mobile telephony action plans

8. Expansion of telecommunications disability standard

The combination of these areas encompassed the majority of the recommendations in the discussion paper, as well as providing a framework around which to focus discussion at the Forum, and structure any future activities in the area of accessible telecommunications. In particular, they will be used in this Access to Telecommunications Status Update.

The Forum recognised that the area of telecommunications is evolving very rapidly. There was a strong view amongst the consumer representatives that, in the past, this has meant that access issues have been overlooked or insufficiently considered prior to the introduction of new technologies such as digital mobile phones and SMS services. Their view was that if people with disabilities are to have adequate and ongoing access to telecommunications products and services, then the evolution of the industry must be guided by a regulatory model that gives due regard to the principles of access and equity for people with disabilities.

At the Forum, the Commission agreed to provide periodic updates that will serve as an overview of current activities that are focussed on improving access to telecommunications. The remainder of this document summarises what we believe to be the key initiatives that occurred in 2004 and the first part of 2005.

For the most part, it has been compiled from information provided by a number of participants in the Forum, although some comments will be made by way of analysis and suggestions for future directions.

This Update assumes that the reader has some familiarity with the key telecommunications technologies and regulations. Detailed background information is included in the discussion paper, which is at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/communications/tide.htm

It should be noted that this update concentrates on the discussion topics around which the Forum was structured. It recognises, however, that there have been initiatives in other areas. For example, a number of organisations have continued to implement their Disability Action Plans, to evaluate the implications of new products and services for people with disabilities and, in general, to engage in conduct that promotes the objects of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). These initiatives are commendable and significant.

Update in Brief

The following sections of this update provide our assessment of developments in the 8 areas discussed at the Forum. Some of the discussion is inevitably quite technical, and so a brief summary is provided below to give a qualitative indication of the progress that has been made.

Our assessment of the period since the Forum is that encouraging progress has been made in some areas, and that useful mechanisms for ongoing discussion have been established. There are three issues in particular that are seen as having a significant impact on the accessibility of telecommunications for people with disabilities.  

  • Access to mobile telephony products and services by people who are blind or vision-impaired . To date, little real progress appears to have been made in this area, and people who are blind remain largely excluded from all but the most basic features of mobile telephony. We strongly encourage all stakeholders to discuss and implement strategies for improving accessibility in this important area.
  • Access to telecommunications products and services by Deaf people and people who have a hearing or speech impairment . The TTY equipment used in Australia has certainly provided a high level of access to the fixed-line telephone network. However, as telecommunications products and services evolve rapidly, traditional TTY equipment is becoming difficult or impossible to interface with mainstream telecommunications equipment such as mobile phones and Internet telephony networks. There has been some encouraging work done by industry to develop technical solutions in this area of text telephony, but there are important implications for funding and deployment of new equipment that remain to be addressed by government.
  • Code on Accessible Product Features : In early 2004 the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) asked the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) to develop an industry code that would require manufacturers and importers of telecommunications products to provide standardised information about product features of benefit to people with disabilities. Through its Working Committee 19, ACIF developed a draft of this code, which was released for public comment late in 2004. The committee has done a lot of work towards development of the code, and it is hoped that a decision will be made soon on how the code will be implemented and registered with the ACA. The committee has also begun work on a companion Guideline on features of customer equipment that assist people with disabilities. We commend all parties for their commitment to the achievement of positive outcomes for people with disabilities, but we hope that finalisation will occur soon.  

There are, of course, other issues that are significant in terms of their impact on the accessibility of the telecommunications environment, including an appropriate and adequate regulatory framework to ensure that new products and services are accessible, the significant difficulties that many people with disabilities have in purchasing products and services as a result of very limited income, and the timely deployment of services such as video telephony, which has a particular relevance for Deaf people because of its potential to be used in real-time Auslan communication. We encourage all stakeholders to work actively on issues such as these to promote greater accessibility in the telecommunications area.

1. Text Telephony

Since the Forum, there has been a considerable amount of work done in this area. The National Relay Service (NRS) has recently undergone an equipment refresh, funded by the Commonwealth, that will maintain continuity and service reliability to consumers. In addition, the new equipment will provide better service for speech-to-speech relay users, as well as making the NRS compatible with the ITU-T V.18 Data Communication standard over the Telephone Network and 3GPP Cellular Text Modem (CTM) international standards. This enhancement will enable the NRS to receive calls from, and make calls to, any textphone using a protocol in the V.18 or CTM international standards set. This represents a welcome step in enhancing access for people making calls to and from the NRS.

The managed evolution of TTY equipment used in Australia is certainly one of the most critical issues related to accessible telecommunications. Legacy equipment operating according to standards without a capacity for development cannot be sustained in the long term if the Deaf community is to remain part of the telecommunications mainstream. In this context, it is pleasing to note the work of the ACIF Any-to-Any Text Connectivity (TATA) Options Working Group. The Group comprised representatives from the telecommunications sector, the disability sector, regulators, and government, and its primary task was to explore effective models for the seamless connectivity of different text devices, including TTYs.

The group produced a detailed report that was endorsed by the ACIF Board prior to its presentation to DCITA in October 2004. The TATA report recommends the implementation of a text server in Australia to provide conversion of real-time text protocols to allow migration from Baudot TTY to protocols that are more suitable for new network and terminal technologies. The TATA report suggests that this text server would be implemented in two stages. Stage one would address some of the access issues in current telecommunications networks (for example, mobile real-time text communication using CTM to a fixed line TTY).

Stage two would address messaging services such as SMS, as well as real-time text services based on the IP protocol. In practical terms, such a text server would allow TTY users to communicate across networks that currently preclude such communications. For example, a TTY user on a fixed line phone could communicate with a user on a GSM or CDMA mobile phone equipped with a text device, and vice versa.

By enabling migration from the old TTY technology to modern text services, the text server will enable much greater communication between people with severe hearing impairments and hearing people and potentially reduce terminal and network costs to provide text services over time.

The TATA Group also considered complementary approaches to the text server model, such as improving access to equipment that is currently available in Australia , and new forms of equipment appropriate for text communication. One device that received some technical evaluation is the Textlink 9100M (not currently available in Australia ). Supporting a number of standards, including V18, the TextLink provides text services on PSTN and Mobile networks, or voice-and-text communications on the PSTN. Testing performed by Telstra indicated that this device has potential for use in Australia , although certain improvements were suggested. A user study project is being undertaken by the University of Newcastle with funding from Optus and with input from the disability community to assess the TextLink further. This project came about through TEDICORE initiatives, and will, in fact, test three different new text communication devices in a real-life environment with Deaf users, and users who have a hearing or speech impairment.

The Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) Next Generation Network Future Options Group (NGN-FOG) has produced a Policy and Regulatory Treatment of New and Emerging Services that suggests some recommendations relating to the telecommunications needs of Deaf people and people who have a speech or hearing impairment. Among these recommendations are the improvement of speech to speech relay services, the continuing need for "voice equivalent" services as part of the standard telephone service, and the need for improved access to a variety of relay services by means of IP devices. The report was considered by the ACIF Board in preparation for its submission to DCITA.

The rapid developments that are taking place in the contemporary telecommunications environment have created numerous opportunities for the potential or actual introduction of new products and services aimed specifically at addressing the telecommunications needs of people with disabilities. Many of these involve the use of the Internet or mobile phone networks, and their associated protocols. Some examples are SMS relay (where a Deaf person can use a relay service to communicate via SMS with a hearing person who is using a phone without SMS capabilities, and vice versa), video relay, and IP relay.

The NRS is not currently funded to provide many of these services that rely on new and emerging technologies. There is an emerging trend away from the conventional fixed-line telephone service as increasing numbers of consumers choose to rely primarily or exclusively on mobile phones and start to use IP-based telephony services. It is important that legislative and administrative definitions do not unduly hinder the development of new products and services for people with disabilities, and that they do not force service providers and people with disabilities themselves to continue using technologies that are outdated or restricted. Among other things, a clarification of the definition of "Standard Telephone Service" would seem to be appropriate.

2. Public payphone accessibility and TTY payphones

Telstra is the largest operator of public payphones in Australia , however there are also a number of private payphone operators. In March 2004, the Australian Communications Authority's (ACA) Payphone Policy Review was tabled in parliament. The Review includes a number of recommendations relating to public payphone accessibility and TTY payphones. In particular, the ACA recommended that ACIF develop a Payphone Accessibility Code bearing in mind, however, that the part of the Code dealing with particular payphone features would not be enforceable under current telecommunications legislation. As a way of making such a code more useful and likely to bring about real change, the ACA suggested that the Commission could support such a Code as being likely to be consistent with the objects of the DDA.

The Government announced its response to the review on March 2, 2005. The response includes the development of a Payphone Accessibility Code.

Telstra has continued its work in the area of public payphone accessibility. At the request of its Disability Forum, Telstra established a Payphones Working Group comprising consumer representatives (Australian Association of the Deaf, Better Hearing Australia, Blind Citizens Australia, Physical Disability Council) together with Telstra Payphone Services and Telstra Disability Services. The Working Group's inaugural meeting took place in February 2004, and a broad range of matters was discussed. One of the significant outcomes of the meeting was the development by Telstra of a draft industry code for payphone accessibility, using the company's own payphone access policy as a basis. After the draft had been finalised, it was forwarded to ACIF for consideration as a source document towards an industry code for payphones.

Telstra operates about 230 payphones throughout Australia that have TTY capabilities. This number is steadily increasing, and is in addition to those TTY payphones that are operated by various businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, hotels, and other payphone providers.

Another initiative that may have real benefits, especially for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired, is the introduction of SMS functionality on payphones (as well as on other landline-based phones) during 2005. Telstra advises that about 55% of its 32,000 public payphones now have SMS outgoing capability at 20 cents per message. The locations of SMS-enabled payphones, and TTY payphones can now also be identified on the new payphone mapping locator - http://envinsaonline.mapinfo.com.au/ppol, or through the Telstra Payphones web page www.telstra.com.au/payphoneservices.

3. Disability impact analysis for changes in technology

Some companies, including Telstra, have corporate policies and procedures in place for assessing new technologies in terms of their impact on people with disabilities. However, such initiatives do not extend across the whole telecommunications sector, and are unlikely to allay the concerns of those who believe that such analyses are essential if new technologies are to be accessible from the beginning. This issue has been raised by the disability sector on numerous occasions now, for example at the Australian Communications Authority Consumer Consultative Forum.

The Senate Inquiry into the Australian Telecommunications Network released its report in August 2004, and one of the recommendations contained in this report is that industry consult with people with disabilities about the impact of introducing new telecommunications technology.

Further information about the recommendations is at: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ecita_ctte/tele_network/report/c07.pdf

Most of the Senate report was not endorsed by the Government Senators on the Committee, h owever, all Senators did agree that the recommendations regarding disability should be endorsed.

4. SMS pricing for Deaf users

The lodgement of complaints under the DDA in relation to SMS pricing plans that were alleged to discriminate against Deaf users was a key factor in the Commission's decision to sponsor the telecommunications discussion paper (which, in turn, led to the national forum). SMS is an example of a technology that has become pervasive in a short time, but whose impact on people with disabilities was unmeasured and, to a considerable extent, unanticipated. This issue is further discussed below in connection with users who are blind. Deaf people have benefited from the technology itself, but have felt disadvantaged by the pricing plans that bundle SMS services with voice services that as Deaf people they cannot use.

Since the Forum, a number of organisations have pursued the issue, and it would appear that there is now a greater range of plans to choose from, depending on the particular service provider. In some cases, users can choose a pricing plan that allows them to use the full complement of included calls in the form of SMS messages, and/or purchase SMS plans that provide very competitive per-message prices.

While acknowledging the benefits of SMS communications for Deaf users, it is important to emphasise that SMS is not a replacement for the TTY or relay services, and in particular, that it does not provide Deaf people with a level of mobile phone access that is equivalent to that available to the rest of the community. SMS is a "short messaging" service, rather than a real-time communication medium, and it does not generally lend itself to extended and complex communication. It is also worth noting that because of the essentially different character of SMS compared with more traditional methods of communication, there are likely to be specific issues that would have to be considered if relay services incorporating SMS were introduced.

5.Expansion of Section 593 Consumer Grants Program and R&D

Section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 provides that the Minister may make grants of financial assistance for consumer representation and telecommunications research. In April 1998, the Commonwealth Government allocated $3.0m over 4 years for Section 593 grants, and in May 2001, it allocated a further $3.4m over 4 years from 1 July 2002, of which $0.2m was for administration costs.

A number of consumer representation organisations, including TEDICORE, who receive funding under the Section 593 Consumer Grants program, are concerned about the current funding allocations and arrangements. A meeting was held between the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) and ACIF's Disability Advisory Body to discuss a range of issues related to the Section 593 program. Views expressed during this meeting and in follow-up written submissions informed the decision-making process for the 2004-5 allocation of $700,000 that was announced in July 2004, and have also been taken into consideration in developing the program guidelines for the 2005-2006 funding round.

6. Disability equipment program (including Mobile phones)

One of the main areas of concern expressed both at and since the Forum by people with disabilities was that the lack of an independent Disability Equipment Program limits consumers in their choice of service providers, since not all such providers maintain programs for providing equipment such as TTYs and amplified telephones.

The Senate inquiry into the Australian Telecommunications Network referred to previously in this Update also recommended that an independent Disability Equipment Program be established and funded through the Universal Service Levy.

In Mid-2004, the Commission invited ACIF to organise a seminar to consider the specific issues related to the provision of telecommunications to people with disabilities, and ACIF agreed to do so. However, ACIF felt that it would be prudent to wait until after the work of its Customer Equipment and Cable Reference Panel Working Committee 19 (CECRP WC19) has been completed (see Section 8 below for further discussion of the work of this committee).

The outcomes of the work of the WC19 committee will usefully inform any further discussions about the establishment of an independent Disability Equipment Program.

7. Mobile telephony action plans

The Forum recognised that the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), as the national industry organisation representing mobile carriers and service providers and handset makers/importers, would be best placed to co-ordinate work on issues related to mobile phones and accessibility. These issues include:

  • What are some programs, actions, and practices that can be implemented to improve mobile phone accessibility?
  • Do we need an industry mobile telecommunications action plan; what should it contain? (including information sharing and consumer involvement).

Following the Forum, AMTA created the AMTA Disability Committee in early 2004 (now the Accessibility Committee), with all carriers and several handset makers/importers as members. The Committee meets regularly (on average every two months) and is now consulting with disability organisations through the Australian Communications Industry Forum's Disability Advisory Body.

The Committee has developed a work program or action plan to:

  • increase members' awareness of disability issues, including international developments;
  • ensure that those issues are considered as part of AMTA's consideration of all issues;
  • improve appreciation of industry capabilities among the disability community; and
  • improve access to mobile services by people with disabilities, eg by improving both advisory services and encouraging disability action plans and other disability access services among our members.

As part of this program, the Accessibility Committee has prepared a "Good Practice Guide for Service Delivery to Customers with Disabilities", which is loosely modelled around UK guidelines for best industry practice for mobile phone providers. This Guide suggests a wide range of practices that carriers, service providers, handset suppliers and retailers should consider in their efforts to make products and services more accessible. AMTA members wishing to develop disability action plans should find the Guide a useful template.

We are encouraged that the Accessibility Committee has scheduled discussions about how mobile products and services can be made more accessible to people who are blind or vision-impaired, and we look forward to positive development in this area over the coming months.

8. Expansion of telecommunications disability standard

The expansion of the telecommunications disability standard to address a number of access issues,, as recommended in 2003 by the Australian Communications Authority Working Group on this topic to ACA's CTRAC group, was not approved. At the request of the Australian Communications Authority, ACIF established a Working Committee (WC19) to develop an Industry Code relating to the provision of information on the functional characteristics of fixed and mobile telephone equipment that would be beneficial to consumers with a disability; and an Industry Guideline on features of customer equipment (including mobile phones) to assist consumers with a disability. Examples of such features are volume controls, large buttons, and high-contrast display screens. The code would require that manufacturers and importers provide information in a standardised form that would make it possible for people with a disability to ascertain and compare the features of different products.

A draft of the code was released for public comment late in 2004. Despite much work done by the Committee since then, the code is yet to be finalised, and it is our understanding that discussions are continuing. We urge all parties to move towards a speedy resolution of the outstanding issues, or to find an alternative way forward that will lead to positive outcomes for people with disabilities.

Discussion and Next Steps

It is clear that some valuable work has been done since the Forum on accessible telecommunications. We are encouraged that all stakeholders have shown a willingness to engage with the often complex issues that relate to accessible telecommunications. There is, however, much work that remains to be done.

There is a widespread perception in the disability sector that access to telecommunications is either decreasing, or else that some of the current initiatives will only result in the reclamation of the ground that has been lost in recent years. The spectre of the substantial loss of access resulting from the introduction of the GSM mobile phone network continues to inhibit confidence that adequate steps are being taken to ensure that this situation is not repeated with new technology. In particular, there is a widespread and understandable belief among the disability sector that the only way to ensure access to new telecommunications technologies is for there to be more regulatory safeguards than at present.

One area where there appears to have been a lack of real progress is in the affordable access to SMS messaging and mobile phone features for people who are blind. This cluster of issues was amply discussed, both in the discussion paper and at the Forum.

Since the Forum, several new options have become available. Mobile connectivity in general, and SMS usage in particular, cannot in any real sense be regarded as luxuries in countries such as Australia . SMS has become well-integrated into the information environment. Most recently, a number of schools have started using SMS communications to alert parents to their children's absences from school, and airlines now alert passengers by SMS if flights are delayed. This trend towards greater use of SMS will surely continue.

There are now 3 software packages that can be installed on mobile phones running the Symbian 60/70 operating system that provide synthetic speech access to many of the functions of these high-end phones. There is also a hardware/software combination that is available in Australia . Although the Symbian-enabled phones are slowly reducing in price, it remains the case that people who are blind need to spend about $1200 to purchase any of these solutions. We urge that a more pro-active approach be taken that will allow people who are blind to have equitable access to SMS and related services.

Perhaps the initiatives shown by telecommunications companies in a number of other countries, including the UK , Spain and Morocco , might provide instructive models. As mentioned previously, we look forward to some positive developments arising out of AMTA's consideration of this area.

The telecommunications industry continues to experience rapid growth and change, with the introduction of new products and services occurring with ever-increasing frequency. It is impossible for any one body or organisation to monitor all of these new developments to assess the potential impact on people with disabilities. Indeed, during the preparation of this update, it became clear that there are significant information gaps between different parts of the various sectors, with the result that some stakeholders remain unaware or only vaguely aware of developments that may have an impact on them. There appear to be two complementary strategies that should be pursued: disability impact analyses prior to the introduction of new technologies, and a regulatory framework that mandates accessibility to a pre-determined level.

One set of technologies that is gaining momentum is based on the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). We are pleased to note that a recent forum on the regulatory implications of VOIP included a discussion of its impact on people with disabilities, and it is to be hoped that the development of disability impact analyses will continue.

The development of an appropriate regulatory framework offers the greatest scope for ensuring that telecommunications products and services become and remain accessible regardless of the particular technologies in use. It is clear that the operation of market mechanisms alone is not a sufficient condition for the delivery of accessible telecommunications. To date, the process of regulation and standards development has been slow and inadequate, reflecting the difficulties in achieving consensus on what the outcomes should be. The recent work done by the Australian Communications Authority through its Vision 20/20 discussion paper and the associated consultative process, is not only commendable, but also provides an opportunity to energise, reshape, and expand the role of regulation and industry standards in the delivery of accessible telecommunications.

The achievement and maintenance of an accessible telecommunications environment is challenging, but not impossible. Indeed, it is a challenge that we must meet if people with disabilities are to live with independence and equality in our information society. The activities since the Forum on accessible telecommunications in November 2003 have been a positive start, and a demonstration of a commitment to introduce change that will have tangible benefits for people with disabilities. We look forward to monitoring and reporting on future work.