ICT Authority of Turkey ICTA Regulatory perspective on

ICT Authority of Turkey (ICTA) Regulatory perspective on eaccessibility for persons with disabilities: The Turkish Experience 02. 09. 2014 IGF İstanbul Özgür Fatih Akpınar Head of Consumer Rights Department afakpinar@btk. gov. tr

Agenda § Problem Definition § Legal Background § ICTA’s Board Decisions § Conclusion

Problem Definition-1 § § A working group was established in 2011: § Representatives from various NGOs of the disabled people § Academic institutions § Mobile, fixed and cable operators § The Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication § The Ministry of Family and Social Policies They prepared a report: identification of problems of the people with disabilities to ICT access and suggestions to solve those problems

Problem Definition-2 § The persons with disabilities = 12 % of Turkish population -> 9 million. § The operators had limited services which are designed especially for them § Specifically designed services were not easily accessible by them 4

Problem Definition-3 § The people calling a deaf person did not know that the person they are calling is deaf; so, they could not know that they needed to call this person with alternative methods. § The blind people could not access their invoice or quota information which is sent to them by SMS. § Location information was not provided by all mobile operators, so getting lost was a significant problem for blind people. 5

Legal Background § Electronic Communications Law § Information Society Strategy § Strategic Plan of ICTA To ensure that all consumers including The Goal disabled people can equally access ICT services at affordable prices 6

ICTA’s Board Decisions § Mobile operators are required to provide; § Subscription contracts and bills in Braille alphabet or as voicemail to blind end-users § Voicemail to blind end-users when notifying consumers with SMS regarding any change in the terms of tariffs and service provision § Location information, § Voicemail regarding invoice and quota information, § The information free of charge that “the person you have called is deaf”, § SMS or data only services which do not include voice services.

ICTA’s Board Decisions § All operators were required to: § Make their web sites accessible for persons with disabilities § Extend discounted tariffs applicable for disabled persons to NGOs working for such persons. § Gather all services regarding to disabled people under the same title of their web page.

Conclusion § The operators became more aware of the specific needs of the disabled persons. § Awareness among the disabled persons regarding the benefits of access to ICT was increased through informative briefs and TV spots. § Many new servicess began to be used. 9

Thank you !