Home > Media and Analysts > Speeches and Presentations > 2006 > May > Promoting Access

17|05|06

Promoting Access for all in the digital world

TAG Seminar on Emerging Technologies

Wednesday 17 May 2006

30 minute speech to approximately 100 delegates.

Suggested speech of circa 20-25 minutes plus questions.

1 Introduction

Good morning everyone.

I know that as a regulator, I am supposed to adopt a neutral position and not favour one side over the other. But today I am afraid I am going to have to break with that tradition.

I think this is the day to wish Arsenal the best of luck in this evening's Champions League final. It is interesting not just because it promises to be a titanic struggle, but because of the way it illustrates the interest in and potential of so many emerging technologies:

Be it watching the game on a television at home or live on broadband;
Or downloading clips of the game to a 3G phone;
Or watching highlights tomorrow on my laptop through a wi-fi hotspot.

This very traditional event clearly illustrates the impact that emerging technologies - the theme of your conference - are having in our society today.

This promises to be a very interesting conference and I would like to thank TAG for inviting me to talk here today.

Ofcom enjoys a positive and constructive relationship with TAG and we are grateful for all their work on promoting equality of access to electronic communications equipment, services and facilities for deaf, the hard of hearing and deaf and blind people.

We believe that TAG does an excellent job of representing the interests of all these people.

Key issues to address today

I think that today's conference will address three key areas:

How communications markets and technology are developing;
What benefits those technologies can bring for consumers and in particular for disabled people; and
Where these new technologies create challenges for disabled people, especially around issues of access.

Other speakers today will be more qualified than me to speak on some of the specific technologies emerging into the market and what benefits they might provide, so I will instead give you some thoughts on how we at Ofcom see the role of regulation in this area.

To cover today

I'd like to:

Share with you some findings from the independent Ofcom Consumer Panel's forthcoming report on consumers and the communications market;
Make some comments on the current regulatory regime; and
Finish off by providing some thoughts on key issues for the future.

2 The UK market

It is of course a constant challenge for regulators to balance regulatory certainty with the need to adapt to constantly evolving and changing markets.

And to strike the right balance between the light touch that can support innovation and the heavier touch necessary for an inclusive approach to communications.

Fast changing nature of market, second wave of digital

There is no doubt that the communications market is fast changing; it is becoming converged, mobile and more complicated at a very fast rate.

A few years ago we experienced some severe economic weather as markets rose and then fell in response to the promise of a new digital future.

Today, we are not seeing the over reaction of that first period, but the communications climate is changing as the second wave of digital adoption is deeper and more widespread across our society.

Key features of the new communications: on demand, mobility, device integration

The key features of convergence are becoming well known to us all. I think they can be summarised as:

Platform competition , as previously distinct distribution networks adapt to offer services previously only available on other platforms.
The growth of on demand media which allows you to watch content when you want to, whether based on collapsing storage costs or interactive broadband networks.
Greater mobility so content can be consumed where you want to; and
The emergence of flexible devices such as 3G handsets.

Which I can use for voice calls, SMS, mobile internet and mobile video.

This may not be the revolution once promised but it does represent a gradual potential process of liberation.

Developments in the last twelve months

It is worth reminding ourselves how quickly things are moving by looking at some of the major events in just the last twelve months:

Broadband has overtaken narrowband as the most popular means of accessing the internet in the UK and prices and speeds have improved dramatically;
Digital TV penetration has risen above 70%, the highest in Europe ;
We are just two years away from the start of switching off analogue broadcasting for good;
3G mobile is on the cusp of mass adoption, with around 4 million customers today; and
Ofcom has successfully completed its first ever auction of spectrum and we will be releasing more than 60mhz of spectrum over the next year or so;

In technology:

Apple announced the one billionth download from its iTunes store earlier this year;
Both BSkyB and the BBC have now announced the date of their HDTV launches;
Oxford mobile TV trials by O2 and Arqiva have indicated a real consumer demand for mobile television services; and
Even Terry Wogan has a podcast, which I am reliably informed is called a "Togcast"- don't ask me why!

Pros and Cons of digital: more choice vs further isolation of some

If we get this right, this proliferation of digital media will result in more choice, innovation and better prices for consumers.

But the flip side to this is that these new and innovative technologies can also exclude certain sections of the community and further isolate them from the rest of society.

This is as important a challenge for us as any other in this new world.

ACOD

In this context I would immediately like to mention the work of Ofcom's Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People.

ACOD, chaired by Mike Whitlam with Lydia Thomas acting as Vice-Chair, has thirteen members who reflect the diversity of older and disabled people and who have a wide range of expertise.

The main priorities for ACOD have been issues around access to communications for older and disabled people, particularly in relation to the universal service review in telecoms (USO) and access to television, especially the preparations for digital switchover (DSO).

They have made a real contribution to our work and our policy making. I want to thank them publicly for that contribution.

Independent Consumer Panel Research

The independent Ofcom Consumer Panel is an equally valuable support to us, acting as a "critical friend". And I am fortunate enough this morning to be able to share with you a few findings from its forthcoming second annual market research report into consumers and the communications market.

It is an excellent report and I would encourage you all to take a look at it when it is published.

It considers two key issues:

The level of consumer awareness of the developments in the communications sector and the choices available; and
The current consumer experience in the communications market.

The findings are very interesting.

Let me highlight just some of the findings in relation to awareness and use of specialist equipment:

Specialist equipment, awareness reasonable, but ownership low

Around half (51%) of UK adults are aware of specialist equipment to assist with the use of landlines, mobile phones or PCs;
Awareness of equipment is highest:

Highest among people aged under 65 with hearing difficulties at around 63% and among people with mobility difficulties at (65%);

In terms of use:

4% of UK adults say they use any specialist equipment.
This is highest amongst those with hearing difficulties aged under 65 at 20% use;
Which compares to just 5% of adults aged 65+.

The research tells us that while nearly two thirds of people aged under 65 with hearing and visual impairments are aware of specialist communications equipment, relatively few in comparison are using any.

This is surprising given the difficulties some disabled people face with mainstream products such as mobiles.

The reasons for this are likely to include cost, ease of installation and ease of use. It is clear that there we need to do considerably more work in this area to address these issues.

Technology as a solution to key issues such as access

But we also hope that in many cases, technological developments will not be just part of the problem, but also the basis a solution.

Innovations in both technologies and the use of technologies can address social exclusion including problems of access, service design, personal capacity and awareness.

We take this view not least because Ofcom's aim is always to encourage market based solutions where possible.

That does not mean we are a soft touch regulator and we will intervene firmly and decisively when market failure occurs.

We recognise that for some people, there are barriers to accessing the benefits of new communications technologies and services.

For example, deaf and hard of hearing people often require some adjustments to be made by manufacturers or content providers to ensure they can play an equal part in society.

We are alert to this need and through working with groups like TAG and the communications industry; we hope to be able to find solutions to the barriers that arise.

3 Current regulatory regime

Ofcom's duties

Before we move onto the future I would like to spend a few moments setting out what Ofcom's duties are in promoting access for all to electronic communications.

It is against these duties that any future action will need to be taken.

Ofcom’s powers in this area are set out in detail in the Communications Act 2003, and includes duties to:

Further the interests of citizens in relation to communications matters and to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets;
To have regard to the interests of disabled people;
An obligation under the Universal Service Directive which empowers national regulators, including Ofcom, to take measures to ensure access telephone services “ equivalent to that enjoyed by other end users”;
A duty to produce a Code requiring television broadcasters to provide access services for their programmes, such as subtitling and signing; and
A duty to encourage the availability of easily usable communications apparatus.

Whilst we need this legal framework to underpin the actions and interventions we make, we do not want to interpret our duties too narrowly.

Ofcom has been successful, but can do better

I think that it is fair to say that the UK is among the European leaders in pursuing this agenda, although we recognise there are still many challenges ahead and that in the Nordic countries, for example, levels of support are even better.

Let me give some examples of why the UK is at the forefront on these issues:

Even today a relay service enabling deaf and hard of hearing users to communicate is only available in a handful of European countries.
Our service is the only one that does not tie the user to the incumbent operator.
We are also unique in Europe in having mandated relay service access from mobile phones.

This has not been without its difficulties – there is a mismatch between modern mobile networks and the signalling protocols that textphones use – but we have laid a foundation on which future improvements can be built.

City University study: feasibility of alternative relay services

And many of you here will also be aware that Ofcom commissioned the City University to study the feasibility of alternative relay services, including video relay.

The final report was delivered to us last week and we are now studying it carefully.

In broadcasting, the availability of subtitles, audio description and signing on around 70 broadcast channels is very high compared to other European countries.

We think we have made a reasonable start but there can be no room for complacency.

As I mentioned earlier, because the market is so fast-moving and new technologies and applications can often outpace the regulatory framework, we need to be on our toes.

So what are we doing address this challenge?

Working behind the scenes

Some of what we do happens behind the scenes. Let me give an example:

We are intervening in the Europe-wide debate on the Framework Review – which is looking at the current package of Directives with a view to updating them where this is appropriate.
We are working with the DTI to push accessibility issues higher up the agenda, to create a more flexible approach to Universal Services and to bridge the gap between the regulation of networks and services on the one hand and terminal devices on the other.

Addressing accessibility in nascent markets

We also look to manufacturers to take account of accessibility issues in nascent technologies. This is no less true for being a truism; it is far easier and cheaper to factor in accessibility at the start of the design process than adding it on to a mature service or product.

An example of this is the fruitful dialogue we have promoted between disability groups and industry for Voice over IP telephone services, focussing on accessibility issues.

Listening to disabled customers

A crucial part of our work is listening to disabled consumers who are best placed to track potential accessibility issues on their radar.

To this end, we very much value the insights derived from the great work of many of the people we work with regularly:

The independent Ofcom Consumer Panel;
Our own Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People;

But also of course:

Ongoing relationships with disability stakeholders, like TAG; and
From events like the one being held here today.

And we will continue to work hard in these areas, exploring every avenue available to us.

4 Issues to resolve for the future

Let me turn to the future.

As time is limited, I will look at three issues that we see as crucial and coming to a head soon. I want to cover:

Some thoughts on television access services.
The Universal Service Obligation and accessibility; and
Some issues relating to Digital Switchover.

One of our key duties on behalf of disabled people is the regulation of television access services; subtitling, signing and audio description.

We are currently undertaking our second review of the Code, but before I talk about that, I would like to share some of the changes since our first Code was published in 2004.

Achievements to date in this area

Since the Code was published, there has been a step change in the number of channels providing television access services, with all broadcasters with a high enough audience share and who meet affordability measures required to provide them.
70 channels were required to provide access services in 2005, and the number required to do so has risen to 76 in 2006, though two of these channels have since closed.
All of the channels exceeded, in many cases substantially, their obligations to provide one or other of the access services, and a large majority met their obligations in full.
Many channels chose to provide a higher level of access services than required under the Code, particularly subtitling, which Ofcom welcomes, and those that missed their targets will make up the shortfall this year.

Ofcom has promoted, following a careful consultation - a simpler way of identifying programmes carrying access services, and these are now used by all broadcasters, shown on Electronic Programme Guides and used by television listings magazines. Most national and regional newspapers have also followed suit.

Ofcom has also been able to broker an agreement with the Music Publishers’ Association that will see much more subtitling of song lyrics on music programmes.

Reviewing the Code and research underpinning that review

The review of the Code is timely, as it will take effect for 2007, when we will see the targets for subtitling provision on all digital channels rise from 10% to 35% of programme hours. And thanks to falling costs in provision of subtitling, we expect a similar number of channels to continue to provide access services.

In the lead up to this, in March of this year we published our research into usage of television access services for this review.

The results for subtitling were very encouraging:

7.6 million people use subtitles; and
1.4 million of these have a hearing impairment.

Our research showed a potential hearing impaired population in the UK of just under 4 million. Our research focused very much on television viewing, and we make no claims beyond that in terms of these statistics.

What it does show is that there is still a large potential market for subtitle services that is not being served, and we will be continuing to push broadcasters to promote the access services they provide.

Clearly subtitling is a valued service for many hearing people in the UK , and is a good example of where provision of access for deaf and hard of hearing people brings wider social benefits.

Our research also found that many deaf and hard of hearing people who can understand British Sign Language actually preferred using subtitles to access programmes.

For this reason, Ofcom is discussing with TAG and other disability organisations and broadcasters whether there are better ways of meeting the needs of sign language users than the current arrangements.

I would stress that Ofcom’s role in this discussion is to ensure that the maximum benefit is derived for deaf and hard of hearing viewers from the resources available. I would urge delegates to respond to Ofcom’s consultation on access services and let us have your views. The closing date is the 8th of June.

USO and accessibility

Since the 1980s the traditional locus of Universal Service Obligations, commonly referred to as USO, has been circuit-switched voice telephony.

A flexible and dynamic approach to USO

It is imperative that, as rival and successor technologies come to the fore, the concept of USO becomes as dynamic as the markets within which it operates.

That is why we will continue to make the case for a flexible and dynamic approach to recasting Universal Service Obligations for the future.

Of course, we do not know what the market will look like in five years’ time and what the specific accessibility issues will be.

But this does not mean that we cannot assert the principle of functional equivalence of access: that disabled users should be able to access services that are functionally equivalent to the mainstream services they are excluded from.

IP based applications - the downside

In particular, the migration to Internet, or IP-based applications offers the promise of new ways of communicating, but also inevitably runs the risk of raising new obstacles to access.

The obstacles arise for a number of reasons:

Existing support features, such as relay, will not automatically be carried forward into the IP world;
New applications may not always be compatible with legacy devices and there is a legitimate debate to be had about how much backwards compatibility needs to be retained;
New technologies may be more complex or unfamiliar and so be more difficult to use. There are additional difficulties for people who are excluded from the workplace where training and support services and help from colleagues is available;
There may be more on-screen information and instructions (eg EPGs) which creates difficulties for blind and visually-impaired users; and
New services may involve more expensive equipment.

For example, the City University Study into Text Communications found that some hard of hearing people wanted to use email but simply could not afford a computer.

IP based applications: the upside

But we must also recognise that these potential obstacles can be counter-balanced by the advantages that internet-based services can offer.

For example, mainstream video through IP/3G networks can give much higher resolutions which could better support lip-reading and signing.

Traditionally, people with disabilities have had to buy niche-market assistive devices such as textphones or braille readers. However if you want to connect to a PC or PC-derived device you will find standardised interfaces and the possibility of using off-the-shelf equipment.

For example we have seen the emergence of commercial screen readers.

Moreover, IP will support mixed media – voice/video/text – enabling more flexible relay services and enhanced communication possibilities for all.

The great opportunity in all this is that many of the services that disabled people want to use may become mainstream services, in the same way that SMS, email and Instant Messaging have become.

The digital inclusion project

I would like to take this opportunity today to say a few words about a new project that Ofcom will be undertaking this year to further understand digital inclusion.

We are all aware that there is a gap between those parts of the community which consume a broad range of communications services, and those who either do not consume many of these services, or to whom these services are not available.

This is a matter of concern for Ofcom because reducing digital exclusion, whether it arises from social, geographical or disability factors is very important to us.

Digital exclusion limits the cultural, educational and employment opportunities for citizens as mush as it does their social and entertainment options.

And so we are beginning a project aimed specifically at looking at promoting greater digital inclusion.

The project will look at:

Where there is a lack of availability or take up;
What are the causes of lack of availability and what are their magnitudes;
What are the causes of low take-up;
For each communications service, in what circumstances do Ofcom's duties imply that we should seek to address a lack of availability or a lack of take-up;
To what extent are these policy options within the remit of Ofcom, or others? and
What should Ofcom do or encourage others to do to address the growing digital divide?

DSO

Without doubt the most significant change in the communications sector in the near term is the switchover from analogue to digital television.

I know that Ford Ennals from Digital UK is speaking later on, and will address this in detail.

I will leave the body of the issues on DSO for Ford to address and will just say a few words about DSO from our perspective.

Working closely with others, clear division of responsibilities

I should start by reiterating that we are of course very pleased that Government and the industry listened to us and others and set up Digital UK and we are working very closely with them to support a successful transition to digital TV.

Ofcom’s responsibilities in switchover largely relate to spectrum management and the regulatory transition to a digital only broadcasting sector.

However we fully recognise that for switchover to succeed the identification, management and solution of consumer issues is paramount and that is why Ofcom plays an active part in working with Government, Digital UK, the industry and consumer and disability groups in ensuring consumer issues are resolved.

The targeted help scheme

Clearly, we are all waiting to see what the Government will be putting in place for the targeted help scheme, and I know that TAG and other disability groups have done a lot of work on what specifications are needed for an accessible digital set top box.

Whatever the outcome of the Government’s scheme, it is important that manufacturers start to build in accessibility features as standard in all set top boxes. We would like to see affordability, choice and equality of access for consumers across all digital platforms.

5 Conclusions

It is clear that there are many challenges for all of us for the future.

And the challenges faced in this area in the future are likely to grow as markets develop and technology becomes increasingly embedded as a means around which society operates.

Some of these challenges may ultimately need to be solved by regulatory intervention, but there are clear opportunities here for solutions to evolve which prevent the need for us to intervene directly.

Where Ofcom can play a role in bringing citizens and consumers together with industry to find solutions, we will do so. Many potential problems can be solved by raising issues at the right stage of development and ensuring there is appropriate input and effective consumer testing.

It is important that Government, Ofcom, Digital UK, manufacturers, retailers and disability organisations continue to work together on these issues and I hope that I have highlighted today just how seriously Ofcom is taking its responsibilities in this area in collaboration with ACOD and the independent Ofcom Consumer Panel.

It is important that:

We are aware and up to date with the key issues;
We talk to people, conduct research and deepen our understanding; and
We continue to work closely with Government, stakeholders and others to identify who is best placed to provide workable solutions.

And whilst we continue to work hard on these issues, we hope that the market will look to take the opportunities available to provide technological solutions to some of the issues I have addressed today.

And in turn, that consumers will take advantage of the benefits that these emerging technologies will bring.

Thank you.