UNIVERSAL SERVICE – GLOBAL
BACKGROUND, SCOPE AND
BEST PRACTICES
Nirmita Narasimhan
Centre for Internet and Society
Agenda
History
 Scope of USF
 USF around the world
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Funding Models
 Country examples
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General Observations
HISTORY
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Term originally coined in 1913 when AT&T
was allowed to be sole service provider
subject to certain restrictions
 Interconnection to all networks and not service
to all customers
 US Communications Act of 1934 for the first
time established the policy that all wired and
radio communications services should be
made available to all citizens at reasonable
cost.
HISTORY
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Present Universal Service - the minimum set of
telecommunication services that should be accessible
to everyone.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in
its second colloquium in 1993 recognized the
elements of universal service to include - access to
telephones, availability and affordability, residual
service, information infrastructure and the provision of
specific services.
SCOPE
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Initially was used to refer mostly to fixed telephone
service.
With developments in ICT and convergence, its scope
has widened to include broadband and mobiles in
many countries.
In many countries, persons with disabilities are
expressly recognized as an intended beneficiary of
the activities of the fund.
In India, USOF covers cellular and broadband
services.
While the Indian charter does not yet expressly include
persons with disabilities, the USOF nevertheless
recognizing this as an underserved community has
decided to fund some pilot projects for this group.
USF AROUND THE WORLD
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Concept of USF exists in 127 countries.
Different models of funding include:
- Centralised fund with programmes/ schemes- eg.
USA and India
- USO policy- EU USP - Australia, New Zealand and
Ireland
- Pairing of service areas
FUNDING MODELS
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Levies on operators
Budget allocations from national budget.
Combination of funding mechanisms:
For e.g. Kenya- levies and allocation
AUSTRALIA
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Regulator: Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA)
 USP: Telstra
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Division 2 of The Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and
Service Standards) Act, 1999 prescribes equitable access to standard
telephone services, payphones and prescribed carriage services
 Section 6 of Australia’s Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and
Service Standards) Act 1999 - standard telephone service includes any
equivalent form of service required by a person with a disability who
cannot use the normal means of communication.
 Telstra mandated to provide alternative means of communication like
text tele typewriters, volume control phones and hands free phones.
 Priority service- faster connections, quick repairs and more reliable
connections.(24 hrs in urban areas and 48 hrs in rural areas).
FRANCE
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Regulator: Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et
des Postes – ARCEP[]
USP: France Telecom
Art. L. 35-1 of the Telecom Act 1996 mandates provision of quality
telephone service at affordable price.
Low income and disabled users are recognised as “social categories
with special needs”
Pay phones in France have to have:
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A special button on payphones for blind users and persons with visual
impairments with voice based server with pricing information;
Listening text public telephones for deaf users or users with hearing
and
speech impairments.
‘Locomotor’ disabled - devices without door, with lowered position
French Govt. has also announced its intention to set up specific relay
service centres for persons with hearing loss.
[1] http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=1&L=1
IRELAND
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Regulator: Commission for Communications Regulation
USP: Telecom company Eircom, (designated USP until June
2012)
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Eircom’s obligations towards persons with disabilities:
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Provide a dedicated section of its website, accessible from the
homepage, with information on the services which affect persons
with disabilities.
Maintain a code of practice regarding the facilitation
of services
for persons with disabilities which will be subject to periodic review
and amendment.
Provide inductive couplers for users who are hearing impaired,
along with amplifiers and teleflash visuals.
Provide text relay service through the National Relay service under
the National Association for the deaf programme.
IRELAND
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Eircom’s obligations towards persons with disabilities
(continued):
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Offer rebates for text telephone calls
Provide push button telephone sets with speed and automatic
redial buttons which will enable allowing pre-programmed
telephone numbers and hands free phones to people with
dexterity impairments.
Provide restricted vision telephones and free Braille billing for
people with visual impairments
Provide free alternative directory enquiry services.
ITALY
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Regulator: Agcom
USP : Telecom Italia acts as the USP without formal designation.
Framework for universal service is found in the EU universal service
directive
Telecom Italia has made the following services available:
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Easy activation and repair of services
Accessible public telephones for consumers using hearing aids
Dome-type public phone booths, equipped with a metal bar at the base allowing
for detection with the stick used by persons with visual impairments.
50 per cent discount on monthly phone bills for eligible households having
persons with disabilities.
Total exemption from telephone charges for households with one deaf person
90 hours of free internet usage, or a 50 per cent reduction on monthly charges
for households that include one “completely blind” person.
JAMAICA
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The ICT policy gives the fund the power to support
programmes for vulnerable groups like low income
households, the elderly, youth and persons with
disabilities.
In 2009 the USAF Company provided computers and
audio visual media material for 6 schools to the
amount of 6 million dollars.
KENYA
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Regulator: Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK)
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Chapter VIB of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act
2009 lays down for the establishment of fund to be administered
by CCK.
Section 3 (2) (b) of the Kenya Information and Communications
(universal Access and Service) Regulations, published in 2010
imposes specific obligations on the USP. Presently Kenya’s USF
has initiated 6 pilot projects across the country.
ICT for people with disabilities project - makes the USF
responsible for facilitating “reasonable”
availability and
affordability of “basic and advanced communications systems and
services” to disabled end users at both the household and
individual levels
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KENYA
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Some of its projects include:
 Establishing school-based ICT centres in secondary education
institutions for disabled students.
 Setting up an accessibility web portal offering information for and
about persons with disabilities.
 Conducting an awareness campaign to develop suitable guidelines
on ICT for Persons with Disabilities.
 CCK has identified eight institutions for people with physical, hearing
and visual impairments to participate in this programme. The
regulator supported the supply, delivery, and installation of
computers, requisite hardware, software, and furniture through the
fund and will support internet connectivity in the schools for a two
year duration.
LITHUANIA
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Regulator: RRT (Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic
of Lithuania )
 Chapter 5 of the Law on Electronic Communications 2004+ EU US
Directive outlines scope of USF
 Article 31 (1)covers the following services:
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Public fixed telephony and related services
Pay phone services
Directory enquiry services
Accessibility for persons with disabilities
USP is mandated to ensure that the total number of public pay phones
that cater to the needs of disabled end users is no less than 10 per cent
of all pay phones in the country
 These payphones must be equipped with instructions for users in large,
easy- to read font and be illuminated when dark
 The USP also is mandated to install at least one textual public payphone
in every disabled rehabilitation centre
 First 85 euros of the cost of a new handset every five years is covered by
the State budget.
MALAYSIA
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Regulator: Malaysian Communication and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC)
Section 202 of the Communication and Multimedia
Act, 1998 - set out the universal service provision
obligation.
USP - identifies persons with disabilities as an
underserved community/ group, which does not have
collective/ individual access to communication.
192 of the Act also states that the Required
Application Service[1] i.e. specific services that service
providers are mandated to offer includes services for
disabled consumers.
[1] http://www.skmm.gov.my/link_file/the_law/NewAct/Act%20588/Act%20588/a0588s0193.htm
NEW ZEALAND
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Regulator: Commerce Commission
Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) in
New Zealand is outlined in Part 3 of the
Telecommunications Act 2001 and facilitates specific
telecommunication services that may not be available
commercially or are unaffordable
Govt. of New Zealand has set up a national relay
service which is being operated by Sprint through 2
call centres.
PAKISTAN
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Regulator: Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA)
USF established as a company.
Sec 2 of the USF Policy document lays down the
mandate of the fund to meet the needs of
telecommunications services in unserved and
underserved areas throughout the country.
Like India, does not expressly mention persons with
disabilities.
But in section 5, subsection 5.7 under services to be
covered it lays down that the contractors are required to
provide special services, infrastructure and special
equipment for persons with disabilities.
PAKISTAN
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2008- project titled “ Enabling Persons with Disabilities to use telecom
services”.
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Under this project the fund signed a $25 million contract with the Al-Shifa Eye
Trust to do the following activities:.
To extend support to the Low vision center at Rawalpindi hospital and help
make it into a ‘Center of Excellence’ through expansion in infrastructure,
recruitment of trained professionals and making available to the centre,
modern low vision equipment.
To up-grade the low vision center at Sukkur, Sindh by providing it with
modern equipment
To establish low vision centers on the lines of Rawalpindi and Sukkur at
Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The USF has also signed a USD 6.1 million contract with the Pakistan
Foundation Fighting Blindness.[1] The project is aimed at utilizing USF funds
to digitise Audio World Library and establish an internet café at Darakhshan
Rehabilitation Centre, as well to expand the foundation’s accessible internet
café at Islamabad.
[1] http://www.usf.org.pk/Publicphase.aspx?phaseid=51&pgid=12&phasename=Project with Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness
POLAND
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Regulator: The Office of Electronic Communications
Telecommunications Law of 2004- Universal Service. Art 81
clause 3 provides for:
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Fixed telephone services that can support internet access and fax
transmission
Directory and directory enquiry services
Payphone services
Services for persons with disabilities
Art.89 of the Telecommunications Law mandates the USP to
provide the following services for persons with disabilities –
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Terminal equipment adapted to meet the needs of persons with
disabilities
Facilities which persons with disabilities may require to access
universal services such as accessible payphones etc.
PORTUGAL
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Regulator: Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM)
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The USO in Portugal covers the following services
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connection to the fixed telephone network and access to the fixed
telephone service,
supply of public pay phones and
provision of telephone directories and a directory enquiries service
Article 5.0 of Chapter II of the decree[1] deals with public pay
phones. Section 6 makes it obligatory for the service provider to
comply with technical norms to guarantee access to payphones in
public buildings for persons with disabilities.
Chapter IV Article 10.0 on pricing makes provisions for special price
systems for specificor for categories of users or services. These
include persons with disabilities.
PORTUGAL
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Portugal covers the following services under USO for
persons with disabilities
- Billing in accessible formats
- Text Relay Services
- Information about accessible services
- Functions and special measures for access to
emergency services
- Mandating
handsets for fixed telephony to be
accessible
- In addition, service end-users with hearing impairments
need only pay EUR 30.90 towards
their
telecommunication service, with the remainder
subsidized by the USP on a voluntary basis.
SLOVAKIA
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Regulator: Telekomunikačný úrad SR (TU SR)
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Chapter 2 (2) Act of the Act 610 on Electronic
Communications 2003 provides for:
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Fixed telephony services at public places that can support internet
access
Directory and directory inquiry services
Access to pay phones
Free and uninterrupted access to emergency call numbers
Access to public telephone services for persons with disabilities
including barrier-free access to pay phone facilities that are fitted with
assistive technologies.
Chapter 2 (3) states that information regarding public pay
phones and other services available through the USO for
persons with disabilities must be established in a binding legal
regulation.
SLOVAKIA
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Article 2 of the Measure states that the designated universal service
provider shall ensure that every payphone
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Shall include simple operating instructions
Be enabled with buttons that can be identified by visually impaired users
Be equipped with multilevel sound amplification
Shall facilitate access to an operator for hearing impaired users
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Article 3 states that the USP must ensure that a minimum of 25 per cent
of payphones are accessible to hearing impaired users with hearing aids
and ensure that they are marked as being so.
 According to Article 4, the USP must provide for users with hearing and
speech impairments
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Round-the-clock operator service for assistance
A terminal device for access to public telephone services including
emergency services
Article 5 mandates the USP to provide free access to information
services about telephone numbers to persons with visual disabilities.
SLOVENIA
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USP - Telecom Slovenia
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USP is obligated to provide the following services as per law:
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Prioritize service and repair requests from disabled end-users
Provide eligible persons with disabilities a 50 per cent discount for
setting up a fixed line connection.
Make available general information about available services including
details of tariff in Braille and audio formats
Offer eligible persons with disabilities a 5 per cent discount on monthly
charges for publicly available fixed telephone services.
Make available information about call costs, remaining balance on
prepaid etc through voice messages for visually impaired
users.
Provide users with visual impairments a special number to call at for
assistance in placing calls at no extra charge.
SWEDEN
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Regulator: Swedish Post and Telegraphs Agence (PTS)
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The activities of PTS with regard to meeting USOs are financed via
levies applied on service operators and broadcast license holders.
 Programmes and initiatives operational under the PTS for persons with
disability are funded from allocations from within the national budget of
Sweden.
 Several provisions mandating accessibility for persons with disabilities.
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PTS: Specialist terminal equipment, relay services, accessible billing systems
and information and emergency services
SMS112 project: distress calls to emergency number 112 using text a
message which is in trial state.
Audio 4 all :tools for the distribution and navigation of audio information which
looks at testing flexible mediums for dissemination and use
of
audio
information by people with reading disabilities through computers, cell phones
and broadband television and digital
streaming.
the e-Adept project, is looking at ways in which persons with disabilities can
independently navigate their way in urban environments
through digital
maps and GPS.
THAILAND
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Regulator: National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission
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NTBC is in charge of administering the USF and according to sec 17 of
the Telecommunications Business Act, 2001, can demand service
providers to provide services for children, elderly persons and persons
with disabilities.
 Designated USPs are required to provide the following services for
persons with disabilities –
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Provide a free 30-minute phone card per person every month for persons with
disabilities, low income people and seniors who are registered with Ministry of
Social Development and Human Security for 30 months counting from the
date of license issuance.
Provide at least 1 public telephone within 100 meters in radius for low income
communities that make a petition.
Provide public telephone and other necessary services for persons with
disabilities as per act of disability B.C. 2544.
UNITED KINGDOM
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Regulator: Ofcom
 In charge of implementing specific measures for persons with disabilities.
 Specific conditions imposed on BT and Kingston and general conditions
on all service providers.
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Special tariff schemes for low income customers
A fixed network connection which includes internet access
Access to public pay phones
Services for persons with disabilities including text relay service:
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USO is currently funded by BT and Kingston[1] who have been designated
as universal service providers[2]. The EU directive makes provision for
funding through the NRA in case the obligation poses an “unfair burden” on
the USPs.
Text Relay Service is operated in UK by BT under the USF.
All communications providers must give their customers access to an
approved text relay service at no extra cost.
[1] http://www.k-c.co.uk/
[2] http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/uso/main/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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USP: USAC, the company set up by the FCC for administering the USF.
USF is run under four broad categories.
Funds utilized for subsidizing telecom services in high cost areas, for low
income persons, for rural health care services and for schools and
libraries.
USF administered differently by different states
Discounts on basic telecommunication services are there in many states
like Vermont, Missouri, Colorado and Virginia, Wisconsin
Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Programme - vouchers to
purchase assistive technology necessary to use basic telecom services.
Access Programme
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Access to telecom and information services for users in areas having high
service costs, low income users or persons with disabilities.
Technology for education achievement programme - schools, libraries and
colleges.
Newsline
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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California 
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California
Telephone Access
Programmeprovides
telecommunications assistive technologies and devices for
persons with disabilities.
California Relay Service
Oregon 
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Oregon Telephone Relay service- free relay service operated
by Sprint.
Telecommunication Devices Access Programme: loans
adaptive telecommunications equipment to eligible residents
free of charge.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
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Persons with disabilities can clearly be tremendously
benefited by access to telecommunications.
Their needs are left unmet by mainstream
programmes and need specific programmes and
financial outlay.
Technologies exist to make telecommunications
accessible.
There are huge percentages of population which can
benefit from accessible telecommunications: persons
with disabilities, elderly persons and illiterate persons.
Many countries have implemented projects for
connecting the disabled, with or without specific policy
provisions.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
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Common programmes include
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Provision of financial assistance through subsidies
and loans to purchase ATs
Accessible pay phones
ICT projects in media, health and education
Customer Care requirements.
Relay service
THANK YOU