9 February 2018
The Digital Republic Act of 7 October 2016 stipulates that fixed and mobile telephone operators must provide end users who are deaf, hearing impaired, deaf-blind or aphasic with a simultaneous written and visual translation service for making and receiving calls, at no extra charge and subject to reasonable limits of use. The law gives Arcep the responsibility for setting the quality conditions for these services.
In its public consultation, Arcep proposes a definition of the indicators for measuring the quality and use of these services, as well as demand thresholds for certain among them, such as the rate of call handling within a given time period and the service’s availability rate.
Drawing inspiration from Europe and around the world to identify best practices
To establish these indicators being submitted for public consultation, Arcep consulted with its European counterparts. It was particularly keen to draw on the experience of British, Swedish and Dutch regulatory authorities whose accessible electronic communications services have been operational for close to fifteen years. Arcep also had access to a report on Canada’s Telephone Relay Service which was introduced in late 2016.
Arcep invites all stakeholders to respond to the public consultation before 19 March 2018.