Monitoring eAccessibility in Europe: 2011 Annual Report

The implementation of telephone accessibility policies is generally less developed in the EU countries studied than in the non-EU countries, except for the accessibility of emergency services and mobile web, where the results of EU countries are better. In EU countries, the best results were found in accessibility to directory services, payphones and mobile phones (policies that are also the most developed in non-EU countries), and the worst in certification or labelling schemes and research and development obligations for telecom operators. Outside the EU, obligation for Web operators to ensure mobile-friendliness is the least developed policy domain.

Figure . Status of telephony accessibility policy in EU and non-EU countries

Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages

Figure . Status of telephony accessibility policy, by country

Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages

Overall, USA scores the highest on telephony accessibility policy, followed by United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Czech Republic Denmark adn France. The lowest scores were recorded in Italy and the Netherlands. Greece, Germany, Hungary and Ireland also have low scores.

Scoring for accessibility to payphones is based on the question Are provisions to ensure accessibility to payphones in place? (Covered / Not covered). Given existing EU directives, we would have expected all EU countries to have covered this domain. However, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands appear not to do so.

The question used to rate the accessibility to text relay services was the following: Are provisions to ensure accessibility to text relay services in place? (Covered / Not covered). As for payphones, the extent to which countries have adopted provisions about accessibility to text relay services vary. France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands appear not to have adopted provisions in this domain. Scoring for accessibility to video relay services is based on the following question: Are provisions to ensure accessibility to video relay services in place? (Covered / Not covered). Also in the domain of video relay services, the extent to which countries have adopted provisions to ensure accessibility varies. Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada appear not to cover this technology domain.

Scoring for accessibility to mobile phones is based on the question Are provisions to ensure accessibility to mobile phones in place? (Covered / Not covered). Relatively few countries appear to have adopted provisions to ensure accessibility to mobile phones: Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and USA.

Scoring for accessibility to directory services is based on the question Are provisions to ensure accessibility to directory services in place? (Covered / Not covered). More countries have adopted provisions to ensure accessibility to directory services: Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Norway and USA.

Scoring for accessibility to emergency services is based on the following four questions:

1. 
   Are provisions to ensure direct access to emergency services via text messaging in place? (Covered / Not covered).
   
2. 
   Are provisions to ensure direct access to emergency services via text relay services in place? (Covered / Not covered).
   
3. 
   Are provisions to ensure direct access to emergency services via video relay services in place? (Covered / Not covered).
   
4. 
   Has the country taken steps to ensure accessibility to emergency services in compliance with existing European standards or specifications? (No initiative yet / Implementation of European standards being considered / Country has implemented existing standards).
   

Scoring for Certification or labelling of accessibility in public telephony is based on two questions:

1. 
   To what extent is certification or labelling of accessibility in use in public telephony accessibility policy? (Certification or labelling not yet playing a significant role / Certification or labelling is an integral part of policy approach).
   
2. 
   What kinds of certifications or labelling of telephony accessibility are most common in your country? (No certification / Self-declaration / NGO certification or label / Third-party certification).
   

Scoring for availability of public information about accessible telephony is based on the following three questions:

1. 
   Have public authorities issued guidelines on accessibility for purchasers of telephony? (No / Yes).
   
2. 
   Do landline operators have an obligation to provide information about accessible telephony to end-users? (No / Weak statement or narrow scope / Strong statement or wide scope).
   
3. 
   Do mobile phone operators have an obligation to provide information about accessible telephony to end-users? (No / Weak statement or narrow scope / Strong statement or wide scope).
   

Scoring for research and development obligations for telecom operators is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   Do landline operators have an obligation to do research and development to enhance accessibility to telephony?
   
2. 
   Do mobile phone operators have an obligation to do research and development to enhance accessibility to telephony?
   

Few of the countries appear to have introduced obligations for telecom operators to carry out research and development to enhance accessibility to telephony: USA scores the highest. Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland appear to have introduced more modest obligations in this domain. The data do not state whether obligations have been introduced by law or through negotiations with telecom operators.

Scoring for obligations for Web operators to ensure mobile-friendliness is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   Are web operators in the public sector required to ensure mobile-friendliness of their websites?
   
2. 
   Are web operators in the private sector required to ensure mobile-friendliness of their websites?
   

Spain scored the highest on requirements for Web operators to ensure mobile-friendliness of their websites, followed by France, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.