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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that some of the schedules relating to the Telecommunication Tariff Order (TTO) be removed as these services have lost their relevance in modern time.
The services include Radio Paging Service, Telex and Telegraph Services, Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS), which were part of the original TTO, 1999.
“Such schedules are sought to be removed from the TTO through the proposed 64th Amendment,” TRAI said in the recommendation.
TRAI had set up a committee consisting of representatives from TRAI, telecom service providers, and industry associations to identify infructuous/ redundant regulations that could be purged. The regulator has asked for comments on the draft TTO 64th Amendment by July 26 and counter comments by August 6.
Meanwhile, TRAI also recommended that all mobile manufacturers producing five or more handset models be mandated to bring out at least one handset that meets accessibility criteria for the differently-abled by 2020.
TRAI as part of its recommendations to make technology accessible to those who are differently-abled — numbering 26.8 million according to 2011 Census — has also mooted that TV set-top box makers or importers have at least one model (in different variants) ‘in accessible format’ by 2020.
It had begun a dialogue with the industry and associations in December to identify barriers being faced by differently-abled in accessing telecom and broadcasting services. From 2023 onwards, all mobile and landline handsets manufactured or imported in India should be in accessible format, it said prescribing a similar rule for set-top boxes. These recommendations, if accepted and implemented by the government, would ensure that benefits of the technology are passed on to every person in the society, including those who are differently-abled.
Special attention
Blindness, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, Cerebral Palsy, specific learning disabilities are among the categories requiring special attention in terms of care and assistance and using ICT equipment, TRAI observed.
Accordingly, it has suggested that telecom and broadcast operators have special desks in their call centres to handle calls from the differently-abled using ‘assistive technologies’ and staff be sensitised to handle such queries or issues.
TRAI has suggested that all government websites be made ‘accessibility compliant’.
It has also suggested formation of a steering committee under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities with members drawn from Department of Telecom, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Finance to create guidelines, implementation and monitoring mechanism to improve ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities.
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