TRAI releases recommendations on Making ICT accessible for Persons with Disabilities

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday released recommendations on making Information and Communications Technology (ICT) accessible for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). Implementation of the recommendations will help in ending the barriers being faced by these people. 

Main recommendations 
1. The government should mandate the device manufacturers/importers not to curtail the accessibility features available in popular operating systems in any manner from their devices (manufactured or imported in India). An undertaking to this effect may be taken from manufacturers/importers while lab certification.

2. TSPs to identify and register PwDs under special category and necessary changes in Customer Acquisition Forms (CAF) should be made to this effect.

3. TSPs, MSOs (multiple system operators) and DTH operators to have a special desk in their call centres/customer support centres to handle calls from PwDs using assistive technologies.

4. To facilitate accessibility of emergency services by PwDs, separate desks in each Public Safety Answering Point to be set up (following earlier recommendations made by the Authority on 07.04.2015 regarding "Integrated Emergency Communication and Response System (lECRS)") to be set up where attendant executive should accept calls/SMS/Social Media calls from PwDs and provide them assistance. The desk would also have a relay centre to cater to requests from deaf and speech impaired people.

5. TSPs, MSOs/DTH and PSAP operators to provide sensitivity training to their executives to deal with issues of PwDs.

6. Specific essential accessibility standards for mobile phones, landline phones and set-top boxes have been identified and prescribed.

7. Percentages of channel content to be developed in an accessible format for PwDs with an audio and visual impairment has been prescribed; with 50% of the channels to be developed in an accessible format by next five years.

8. By the end of 2020, all mobile handset manufacturers producing 5 or more different models to produce at least one mobile handset satisfying accessibility criteria for PwDs.

9. Set Top Box (STB) manufacturers/importers should make/import at least one model in different variants of STBs in an accessible format by 2020.

10. Government creating and maintaining a database of devices and ancillary equipment satisfying prescribed accessibility standards.

11. Government to mandate that lCT products (Computer Hardware, Mobile Phones, STBs) procured by Government agencies should be accessible to PwDs and should have associated support documentation and services III accessible format.

12. All Government websites to be accessibility compliant to the PwDs.

13. Department of Telecom (DoT) and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to instruct TSPs and DTH/MSOs to conduct awareness campaigns regarding accessibility issues, design, affordability, availability of assistive tools and products and about various Government