One very important mechanism to provide equal access for persons with
hearing disabilities are relay services, where an intermediary typically
provides a conversion typically between voice and text or sign language.
An increasing number of countries are adopting the UNCRPD and will need
advice on the provision of relay services. Also, it is expected that
more relay services will be deployed in Europe with the passing of new
versions of the Telecommunications Framework Directives; similar
regulatory activity and increase in relay service offerings are also
expected in other parts of the world. In developing countries, where
higher percentages of the population face disabilities, the need for
relay services is greater. At the same time, it should be noted that, as
the Internet infrastructure develops, it may be used to provide
high-quality relay services without the need to build services using
older technologies. Finally, relay services today entail operation costs
higher than those of normal telephone calls; technical and regulatory
solutions are needed to reduce those costs towards the equal basis
access to telecommunication services prescribed by the UNCRPD.
ITU-T Question 26/16 is currently studying relay services with an aim to
advise in those areas through ITU-T Technical Papers and
Recommendations. In this context, the workshop is intended as a forum
where ideas, problems and good practices can be shared. Existing and
future relay service suppliers will be able to share experiences with
governments, regulators, standards makers, user groups and users; the
outcomes will be fed into the Q26/16 studies.
Objectives
The event aims to cover the following topics:
Experience with operation of relay services, both positive and negative
User requirements
Performance parameters
Innovation in the design or implementation of relay services
The use of relay services to access emergency services
Regulatory aspects
Funding of relay services
User experiences that have improved the lives of persons with disabilities
Good practices on improving awareness of relay services
Audience
The event is addressed to standards developers, relay service providers, end-user organizations, and regulators.
Contributions to the event
Anyone wishing to make a presentation during the event should contact the
organiser,
Mr Bill Pechey (bpechey@computency.co.uk, +44 1491 681236), by 31 August 2011 at the
latest. Requests will be honoured based on speaking slot availability and
thematic consistency.
Contributions on other topics relevant to the theme may be accepted.
Survey
Please take a few minutes to respond to the following survey, which is designed to assess your satisfaction with this event. Information that you provide will be treated confidentially (only overall ratings will be published). Thank you for your time.
