Section Links
Support DA
You can help by your DirectoryFind out where to go for services, products, classes... |
Media ArticleWhat is Deaf Equivalent to Voice Telephony? Release of Deaf Australia Position PaperMedia Release - 28 May 2007Deaf Australia is pleased to release a new position paper, "What is Deaf Equivalent to Voice Telephony". The position paper explains Deaf Australia's views in relation to accessibility in the Australian telecommunications environment, with particular focus on what the Deaf community perceives to be the Deaf person’s equivalent to voice based telephony.The position paper is based on a discussion paper and questionnaire about the Deaf equivalent to voice telephony, which Deaf Australia distributed to members and other Deaf people. The survey received a very high 27% response rate. Findings confirmed that Deaf people feel strongly that it is time for Deaf Australia to start focusing on video communications as the new equivalent to the voice phone. "The findings show that Deaf people want access to telecommunications that meets their real needs; they want to be able to communicate in their own language, Auslan, using real-time communications technology, just as hearing people expect to be able to communicate in their own spoken language," Deaf Australia's President, Kyle Miers, said. VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) is currently being addressed by the industry but there is no focus on what its equivalent might be for the Deaf community. There is a need for Deaf Australia to look into the Standard Telephone Service legislation so that it applies to all sectors of telecommunications, for example, mobiles, Internet and video telephony. In the world of telecommunications today, more and more telephony equipment is becoming available which Deaf people can now use for real-time communication. In the past, Deaf people have relied on the use of telephone typewriters (TTY) and text messages via mobile phones (SMS) to communicate but TTYs are very slow and SMS is not real-time communication. TTYs and SMS are also English text based and not fully accessible to Deaf people whose primary language is Auslan. With the advent of video telephony technology, there are now videophones on the market which allow Deaf people to communicate with each other using the Australian Deaf community’s preferred visually communicative language: Auslan (Australian Sign Language). These particular videophones require a broadband connection with download and upload speeds greater than 256 kilobytes per second (kbps). Deaf Australia's PositionDeaf Australia’s position now, in light of the United Nations' Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities, Article 9 – Accessibility (2006) is that Deaf people in Australia prefer and have a right to communicate in sign language, using video telephony. The position paper sets out broad recommendations for a just and equitable solution for Deaf people in accessing telecommunications in Australia. A copy of the position paper is available.
|