MeAC – Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe

Legislation/regulations

The Law of Electronic Communications (Law nº 5/2004) transposes the EU Universal Service Directive and includes some accessibility requirements. Article 91 states that specific measures for users with disabilities could be developed in relation to public phones, and emergency services, phone directory and its information services are specifically mentioned. The specific offers could include:

• the offer of phones or public places with text or similar measures, for deaf persons or with speech communication disabilities
• the provision of services of phone information, or similar measures, free for blind persons or persons with vision disabilities
• the provision of a detailed invoicing in alternative formats on request if made by a blind person or person with a vision disability

The law also states that the National Regulatory Authority could adopt specific measures to ensure that users with disabilities can have a choice of service provider as is the case for the majority of users.

The legislation has imposed obligations and/or made an impact in the following areas:

• telecommunication equipment is available free of charge for disabled users
• there is a legal obligation to apply special tariffs to disabled people
• the national regulatory authority should evaluate the situation and decide special price packages
• directory services are produced in Braille by the universal service provider; a special number 118 Braille is available for blind and partially sighted clients free of charge (20 calls per month) for information services
• The 112 emergency call service is to be made available for deaf and speech impaired people. Installing text phones in the 112 emergency call centres across the country as well as training of the staff is envisaged

Other initiatives

Action 2.5(d) of the National Plan for the Promotion of Accessibility (PNPA) 2007-2015 seeks to ensure the availability of public telephones allowing text communication in shopping centres and transportation stations of the main national cities. This action will be executed under the responsibility of the Ministry of Sciences, Technology and Higher Education/Unit for Innovation and Knowledge (UMIC), the PT Communication operator and the UMTS (National Communication Authority) working group.

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