The AODA has requirements for web accessibility, as well as requirements for the procurement of self-service kiosks. However, the third review of the AODA recommends that future AODA standards should align with existing standards in other parts of the country.
For instance, Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) has adopted European standards for accessibility in information and communication technology (ICT). Future AODA standards may include some or all of these guidelines and requirements to make ICT products and services more accessible. In this article, we explore guidelines in the federal standards for accessible two-way voice communication technology.
Accessible Two-way Voice Communication Technology
ICT offering two-way voice communication should have high sound quality. Therefore, the standards include frequency ranges for technology encoding and decoding sound.
Real-time Text Communication (RTT)
Moreover, ICT with two-way voice communication should also offer real-time text (RTT) communication, ensuring accessibility for people with limited:
However, this guideline does not apply to devices that would need design changes to install hardware for text:
- Input, such as a keyboard
- Output, such as a screen
The standards list technical requirements for speed of RTT transmission, and for two (2) or more ICT products working together and using RTT.
ICT products that identify speakers who use voice should also identify speakers who use RTT. Furthermore, people should be able to use voice and RTT at the same time.
Conferencing Platforms
In ICT allowing communication between multiple people, such as conferencing platforms, people may take turns before either speaking or using RTT. For example, the same virtual hand-raising feature should apply to both voice communication and RTT. However, more than one field for RTT can allow multiple people to use it at the same time, rather than take turns. Moreover, conference organizers can use RTT to display captions for voiced presentations. Similarly, RTT should provide a visual indicator that someone is using voice communication, such as a display’s character position flickering on and off.
In addition, RTT should be separate from chat functions. For example, a speaker may use RTT or voice to make a presentation. As the speaker types or speaks, audience members can use the platform’s chat feature.
Text that people send using RTT should look different from text they receive. Similarly, screen readers should be able to distinguish between the text someone has sent and received. Likewise, RTT should allow people to customize how text displays for them. For example, someone may display text on a Braille display with only one (1) line. As a result, they may choose to scroll through all sent and received texts in chronological order.
Voice-based Services
Likewise, voice-based services should be available in a text format. For example, voice-based services include:
- Voicemail
- Auto-attendant
- Interactive voice response
People should be able to check their voicemail, or interact with services, through text instead of voice.
Caller ID
Comparably, caller ID should be presented both as text and in a non-visual way, such as audio or tactile.