ITU Workshop on Accessibility/Atelier UIT sur l’accessibilité
Bamako, Mali 13 – 15 October 2009
Globalization of Standardization and
Making the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Accessible
Andrea J Saks, Accessibility
Advisor, ITU-TSB
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Overview By Andrea Saks
The beginning of Globalization
A Historical View of events
Beginning with the UK
First Transatlantic Call
They broke it! What Now???
No Compatibility without Standards
The beginning at ITU 1991
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
2
The Beginning
Robert Weitbrecht
Andrew Saks
James C Marsters
with the first
successful deaf
telecommunications
system called
”Phonetype”
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
3
The beginning in the UK
1972 arrived Oct 14th with two
Phonetypes but no printing device
Meeting with Government Post Office
Predecessor of British Telecom
OFTEL (Office of
Telecommunications)
Sir Brian Carsburg Head of OFTEL
1970’s: “Disability communication
should be regarded in the same way
as rural communication”
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
4
First TTY Transatlantic Call
Due to regulation, data was not
allowed across the transatlantic voice
network. FCC waived the rule for
this call for one day only.
What it meant to USA and UK Deaf
people: We could talk over the transAtlantic voice telephone network.
Faxing (an ITU standard) across the
transatlantic voice network became
legal because of the Deaf.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
5
They Broke it
UK decides it wants to go with
Telecom Gold? and CCITT 300 baud
UK tried to dismantle the Baudot TTY
network and tries to impose the new.
Ireland does not conform. Also the
unrecognized Baudot TTY network
continues to live on in the UK in spite of
UK denial
France does Minitel; Italy and
Germany use EDT; Holland uses
DTMF Textphones
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
6
Father of V.18, Dick Brandt
Wrote most of ITU.T V.18
Kept Baudot protocol
within ITU-T V.18
Was rapporteur for the
Disability question in ITU-T
Invited AJS to ITU to help
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
7
The beginning at ITU 1991
Gary Fereno, US State Department,
& me
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
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ITU Technical Achievements
Dick Brandt / USA
The First Deaf Accessibility Recommendation:
ITU-T V.18
Gunnar Hellstrom / Sweden
Total Conversation / Real Time Text, Voice, Video
Accessibility checklist for Standard Writers
IPTV Requirements and Accessibility Features
WTSA-08 Res 70 and ITU-TSB Director’s
Implementation
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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Gunnar Hellstrom
Total Conversation creator
What is Total Conversation ?
Real Time Text: if we don’t use it we’ll lose it!
Rapporteur after Dick Brandt
Improved ITU-T V.18
Wrote the Accessibility
Checklist
Relay Services
Implemented in Sweden
Total Conversation for
Emergency Services
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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Malcolm Johnson, ITU-TSB Director
Malcolm Johnson Accessibility
Advocate
WTSA-08 1st Accessibility Resolution
70
Malcolm Johnson, in accordance
with Resolution 70, reorganized
the Telecommunications
Standardization Bureau (TSB)
to include a Project for
Accessibility so that Persons
with Disabilities could Participate
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
11
IPTV
Focus Group on IPTV began the work
Established 2006-04; Terminated 2008-01
Created a requirements document that
became Recommendation ITU-T Y.1901
Accessibility features mainstreamed
Many accessibility features mandatory, i.e.
captions, voice description and recordability
etc.
Public Service, Accessibility sections
Accessibility Appendix for ease in locating
mainstreamed Accessibility features
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
12
Implementation By Industry?
The Problems
International Standards are Voluntary
No one has to implement all or any part of
international standards
Many national standards bodies compete
Market forces still rule
Regulation is still the best incentive but patchy
Partial implementation of accessibility features
may cause more problems than access
Moving from the PSTN analogue to VoIP digital
Real Time Text over IP is not truly Globally
standardized and implemented
Relay Services, same problem
International
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
Telecommunication
Union
13
New Standards Need Persons with
Disabilities
Engineers need Disability scenarios
from the very people who require the
accessibility Features to write good
Standards
Persons with disabilities can now
participate in ITU because of Resolution
70.
New Standards being developed need
your assistance
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
14
New Standards being created now!
Relay Services need a strong non proprietary International Standard
ITU-T has plans to do this in Q26/SG16
An example of this not being done is
Instant Messaging
It must be Global and not limited or
dictated by commercial interests
industry or national boundaries
Persons with Disabilities can now
participate due to WTSA-08 Res. 70
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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New Standards being created now!
They are as follows
H325 will enable, not only voice, text
and video, but also file sharing,
application sharing, screen sharing and
from device to device
The networked Car it is a possible
speech interactive controls, and for
emergency communication and
telecommunicate, IP and navigational
properties that need to be accessed by
everyone.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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Without International Standards there
can be no Accessibility
Without International Standards
there will be no compatibility or
interoperability and no accessible
global convergence
Without International Standards,
there will be no effective means for
policy Makers to create regulations
for the inclusion of Persons With
disabilities in all forms of Information
communication technology ( ICTs)
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
17
Without International Standards there
can be no Accessibility
Without the involvement of Persons
with Disabilities in the standardization
process, it will be more difficult to
create good International Standards
Without International Standards
there can not be effective regulation
to make industry comply and
implement fully the accessible
Standards.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
18
Without International Standards there
can be no Accessibility
Without Universal Design being
used from the very beginning of the
standard writing process,
implementation becomes expensive
with retro refitting.
Important to stop new barriers
being created by new technology.
ITU-T Accessibility Checklist
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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The Message
With Resolution 70 ITU has opened up
its doors to Persons with Disabilities to
participate in Standards.
If we all participate then it is possible
to conceive that Globalized Accessible
ICTs & Telecommunications could in
fact become a reality with
International Standardization,
Regulation and Cooperation.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
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Contact
Andrea J. Saks
Convener, ITU-T Joint Coordinating Activity
on Accessibility and Human Factors, (ITU-T
JCA-AHF)
Coordinator, Internet Governance Forum
Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and
Disability(IGF DCAD)
Accessibility Advisor to USA delegations
attending many different ITU Study
Groups.
asaks@waitrose.com
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
andrea.saks@ties.itu.int
International
Telecommunication
Union
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