New booklet on choosing phone and broadband for people with disabilities
Release Date: Oct 26th, 2007
The Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg) and the National Disability Authority (NDA) launched a straightforward and useful guide to telecommunication equipment and services for people with disabilities and older people called Phone and broadband – a guide for people with disabilities and older people on the 2nd October.
An online version of the guide is available from NCBI's website. The booklet is also availalble in large print, clear print, Braille, easy to read and audio formats, which can be requested from Comreg on LoCall 1890 22 9668 or from www.askcomreg.ie.
Survey by Comreg
Comreg has also published the results of a survey which examines the awareness, experiences and attitudes of people with disabilities with regard to telephone and Internet services.
Among the results of the survey, it was found that people with disabilities are less likely to shop around for telephone and broadband service providers, even though they are more likely to be concerned with both the cost of services and the reputation of the provider. It was also found that they rarely request special equipment or services, even when they are available.
There is some evidence to suggest that these issues are in part due to the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in getting information about the equipment and services available or contacting customer service representatives for assistance. It is hoped that the publication of the new Comreg guide to telephone equipment and services for people with disabilities and older people will go some way towards filling this information gap.
As far as Internet use goes, the survey found that people with disabilities far less likely to use the Internet than people without a disability. They are far less likely to have Internet access at home and more likely to use it at friend’s houses, cyber cafes or public libraries. Another finding is that mobile phones are considered to be as equally vital by people with disabilities as are fixed line phones.
Comreg will be conducting a more extensive survey next year, in which these issues can be explored more deeply, in order to inform a programme of positive action within the industry. The full Comreg survey report can be downloaded in PDF format from http://tinyurl.com/2uyhrk.