Access to telecommunications services
New: Telecommunications access initiatives
- Christopher Newell prize for telecommunications and disability launched
- Mobile phone accessibility information site launched : see Ministers' press release
Commission resources
- Report on US s.508 and s.255 refresh
- June 2005 telecommunications access update
- Discussion paper on telecommunications access
: also available
- MS word version of executive summary and recommendations;
- MS Word zipped version of full report (278 KB);
- MS Word version of
full report (large file, 1.28 MB)
See also the pages for our Inquiry on access to e-commerce and new service and information technologies for older Australians and people with a disability
- Advice on telecommunications equipment accessibility provided to Australian Comunications Industry Forum meeting (August 2001)
- Inquiry on mobile phone access for hearing aid users successfully concluded April 2001
- Geoffrey Scott v. Telstra Corporation Ltd; Disabled People's International (Australia) Ltd v. Telstra Corporation Ltd
- Australian Association of the Deaf and Disabled People s International (Australia) Ltd v. Telstra Corporation Ltd
- Geoffrey Scott v. Telstra Corporation
Papers from the Commission's telecommunications forum, 28 November 2003
Record of key points of discussion
Attorney-General's
opening address
Commissioner Ozdowski's speech
AAPT - Equipment
Program (MS Word)
ACA - mobile TTY (MS
Word zipped) (note: large file 1.8MB)
ACA
- new generation text terminals (MS Word zipped) (note: large file
1.8MB)
ACA - payphone
review ((MS Word)
ACA
- provision of telecommunications products and services (MS Word)
TATA ACE - Cover
Statement (MS Word)
ACE - Telecommunications
Hub (MS Word)
ACIF - TATA (MS Word)
AMTA - recommendation
20 paper (MS Word)
DCITA
- Expansion of section 593 grants program (MS Word)
DCITA
- IDP AccessAbility and s593 paper (MS Word)
Deafness
Forum - Payphones Access interim position statement (MS Word)
Australian Human Rights Commission-
DDA and Telecommunications (MS Word)
Australian Human Righs Commission - Disability Standards discussion paper .(MS Word)
Australian Human Rights Commission - Issues (MS Word)
Optus
- various topics (MS Word) (note: large file 800KB)
TEDICORE,
ACA WG - Disability Standards WG principles (MS Word)
TEDICORE
- Disability Equipment Program (MS Word)
Telstra -
recommendations 3, 25 IDP paper (PDF)
Telstra - recommendations
7-8 DEP paper (PDF)
Telstra - recommendation
7 SMS paper (PDF)
Telstra -
recommendation 21 videotelephony paper (PDF)
Telstra
- recommendations 22, 23 payphones paper (PDF)
United States regulatory material
- US Access Board
- Market monitoring report on accessible telecommunications
- Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines
- US Federal Communications Commission
- Information on U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules on accessibility of telecommunications equipment and services or see new brief fact sheet
- Full text of U.S. Federal Communications Commission report and order on Access to Telecommunications Service, Telecommunications Equipment and Customer Premises Equipment by Persons with Disabilities (released September 29 1999)
- Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans: Notice of Inquiry
U.K. policy
UK telecommunications regulator OFCOM Disability Equality Scheme
Other resources and links
- TEDICORE - Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation
- Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
- Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) : operates national TTY relay service
- Communications Alliance :including
- Consumers Telecommunications Network (CTN)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)
- Australian Telecommunications Users Group
- WGBH National Centre for Accessible Media
- International Coalition of Access Engineers and Specialists
- Communications Law Centre report on phone contracts and people with disabilities
Action plans
The latest versions of the Telstra and Optus action plans are linked from our action plan register
