Inclusive Communications Working Document

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This is a sub-group working document which does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Commission. No inferences should be drawn from this document as to the precise form or content of future measures to be submitted by the Commission. The Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data referred to in this document.

Date: 27/01/2004
Venue: Brussels

Preface

In 1999 the Commission launched a major review of existing EU telecommunications law[1]. In July 2000 the Commission proposed a package of measures for a new regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services. The new regulatory framework for electronic communications was adopted by the Council and the Parliament in 2002, to be applied as of July 2003.

Under the New Regulatory Framework a committee called the Communications Committee (COCOM) with Member State representatives was established to assist the Commission in exercising its powers. In February 2003, the COCOM established a special working group to undertake a programme of work during the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD). The group gave itself the title of Inclusive Communications (INCOM).

INCOM has held five meetings during 2003. The group has been chaired and managed by the European Commission, Information Society Directorate-General, Unit F-5 Elderly and persons with disabilities.

Throughout its work, INCOM has focused on the user perspective, identifying the constraints and problems users with disabilities face in accessing and using electronic communications as well as potential problems and opportunities relating to new and future technologies and applications. Existing solutions and approaches have been discussed, as well as different development work and pilot projects. Information has been collected from known sources and through a widely distributed questionnaire, which resulted in 37 replies. A summary of the replies to the questionnaire is included in Annex 2.

All citizens have a right to enjoy the full benefits of new technologies. This includes persons with disabilities. Often, disabled people are excluded through lack of access to ICT but, conversely, it has been shown that they can benefit in some cases even more than their peers as ICT can: reduce domestic isolation, generate new training and employment opportunities, increase the choice of entertainment…

The new regulatory framework contains a series of rules and principles that ensure that the liberalisation of the electronic communications market does not occur at the expense of end-users, but brings benefits to them. It assumes that competition and market forces are the most effective means to satisfy user needs, but provides national regulatory authorities (NRAs) with the necessary powers to act to protect users where they need to do so.

Disabled users must enjoy the same rights arising from the Directives as any other end-user. This applies whether these rights stem from the provisions relating to universal service obligations placed on designated undertakings or from other specific provisions (e.g. number portability) which allow end-users to derive maximum benefit in terms of choice, price and quality.

This report covers topics which have been identified by INCOM as having high importance for users with disabilities, where users have encountered serious problems and with a connection to articles in the Directives, in particular the Universal Service Directive and the Framework Directive. However, some solutions go beyond the Directives. The key urgent topics identified are:

Access to national emergency services
Access to telephone services for deaf/hard of hearing/speech impaired/deaf-blind persons
Access to public pay telephones
Access to mobile telephones
Access to directory services
Access to broadcasting, digital television and related services.

Furthermore, the following conclusions have been raised in the INCOM discussions and need to be further explored and analysed.

Follow-up

INCOM is of the view that the observations and suggestions of this report should be followed up in a concrete and measurable way.
COCOM members should take advantage of the information in this report and an effort should be made to consider accessibility in future undertakings.
This report should be as widely disseminated as possible.
Member States would benefit from following the developments in other countries and from exchanging information, experience and follow up progress.
For topics and areas where development and research is needed, the Sixth Framework Programme offers possibilities and budgetary resources.
A new working group with a mandate to follow up and monitor in a concrete way the suggestions of INCOM and address new developments in the communications sector could be created.
Harmonised action across Member States should be based upon the promotion of good practice so that where one Member State has established a 'lead position' it should seek to widen its application until such time as it is ripe for EU-wide implementation.
User involvement has been a central theme of this report and should be for all actions concerning accessibility. Although representational mechanisms will vary between Member States, the Commission should issue guidelines on best practice, particularly in respect of Member State Representation in Commission bodies.

General Principles and Recommendations

The following general principles and recommendations have been brought forward in the INCOM discussions as worthy of further consideration:

Accessibility should be mainstreamed in the all activities in consultation with users..
Integration of Design For All principles into initial product design is essential for accessible products and services ensuring connectivity with assistive technology..
Promotion of existing good practices in Member States can improve accessibility in Europe.
Monitoring and benchmarking for general progress in ICT should be extended to encompass accessibility.
Accessibility should be regarded as a European-wide, integrated challenge.

[1] http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/index_en.htm

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