ACCESSIBILITY: A NEW FRONTIER FOR
UNIVERSAL BROADBAND ADOPTION
GSR 2012 - Session VII
PUBLIC-PRIVATE-PARTNERSHIPS:
INNOVATION STRATEGIES FOR
BRINGING BROADBAND CLOSER
By Axel Leblois, Executive Director, G3ict
Aging and Disabilities: The Invisible
Barrier to Broadband Adoption
• One third of the U.S. population has
not adopted broadband at home
although it is available in most cases
• 39% of those non adopters have
some type of disability, more than
twice the proportion of Americans
living with a disability: 15%
• Only 35 percent of Senior citizens
(those over the age of 65) have
broadband-at-home
Source: FCC Report by John • Similar gaps in other countries for
Horrigan, February 2010
ICT applications and services
Why Accessibility of ICT Equipment,
Contents and Services Matters for
Broadband Adoption
*Source: WHO
World Bank
Report on
Disability 2011

One billion persons live with a
disability*

80% in the developing world

Over half of persons aged 65+ live
with a disability, fast growing
population segment

Disability affects all age groups: 13%
of all public school students K to 12
in the United States live with a
disability (Source: U.S. DOE)
What Do We Mean by Accessible
ICTs for Persons with Disabilities?

Accessibility is what the user requires to
gain functional access to ICTs
 If you cannot read a screen you need a way to
understand what is on it
 If you cannot hear the information, you need a
way to get that information
 If you cannot input a command on a device, you
need a way to do this.

Solutions for computers, mobile, TVs, web
sites and most digital interfaces exist that
can increase broadband usage
4
Solutions for Most Digital Interfaces
GPS for mobility independence
Exist
Captioning service
Mobile app with Daisy books
A public service announcement on Japanese television
SMS-to-Avatar sign translation,
Tunisia
Screen reader
Solutions Exist: Practical Information
and Case Studies – Just Released
Making Mobile Phones
and Services Accessible
Making TV Accessible
Policies and Programs Promoting ICT
Accessibility – Examples of Implementation

Captioning of television or signed news

24 x 7 audio described television channel for the blind (Canada)

Relay services for deaf and speech impaired users of telephony

Ongoing monitoring of web accessibility and compulsory
remediation of all e-government web sites (NIA - Republic of
Korea)

Public procurement rules including ICT accessibility criteria
(United States, European Union policy in development)

National resource center for rehabilitation professionals using
ICT based assistive technologies(ICT Qatar)

Distribution of free equipment to deaf blind persons funded by
Universal Service Fund (United States)
While Solutions Exist, Policies Are
Lagging, Limiting ICTs Adoption
Levels of Implementation
Source: 2012 CRPD ICT Accessibility Progress Report
G3ict – DPI Survey of 52 ratifying countries
Why Should Regulators Get Involved?

Universal broadband adoption requires ICT
accessibility

Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities adopted by most countries,
includes ICT Accessibility obligation
 Public procurement should incorporate
accessibility criteria
 Universal Service Obligation and USFs should
cover accessibility programs

Telecom Regulators and Governments ICT
Agencies are in a unique position to promote
and monitor solutions
Public Private Partnerships Necessary to
Successfully Promote ICT Accessibility

Multiple infrastructure, contents and
services factors are controlled by different
stakeholders

Technology evolves rapidly, driven by ICT
industry innovations, mobile in particular

Implementation factors are complex and
require input from multiple stakeholders
including operators and persons with
disabilities
Public-Private Partnerships:
Who Should be Driving e-Accessibility?
Private Sector
Equally Driven
Government
Private sector web accessibility
Banking and financial services
Travel and tourism
Broadcasting and New Media
Telecoms
Workplace Accommodation
Assistive technologies for rehabilitation
Education
e-government services
Source: DEEP 2012 Program Committee Survey
Source: Survey of 34 DEEP 2012 Program Committee members
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
PPPs in Action

AT&T (U.S.):
 Involves Persons with Disabilities in all aspects of operations

Employers Disability Forum (UK):
 CIOs commit to accessibility charter

Association of Mobile Operators (France):
 Voluntary accessibility roadmap negotiated with
Organizations of Persons with Disabilities

NTT-DoCoMo (Japan)
 Raku-raku phones, market driven success story

DAISY Consortium and ePub3 (worldwide)
 Grassroots standards for the blind becomes mainstream
Thank You
For Your Attention!
www.g3ict.org
www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org
axel_leblois@g3ict.org