A cellular company in San Francisco is working to provide equal access to all people by providing special discounted prices on wireless phones and service to people with visual or mobility impairments.
Since 1992, Cellular One, in conjunction with handset provider Motorola Inc. and the World Institute on Disability, has offered a program called Enable-Link, which offers cellular service for 50 percent less than its lowest rate plans with cheaper airtime and a discount on equipment.
Realizing that wheelchair-users and visually impaired people could benefit from wireless technology, the company sought out WID, a leading disability policy and advocacy organization in Oakland, Calif., to help it assess the needs of disabled people.
“We did focus groups to find out exactly what [people with disabilities] were looking for. We wanted to know if easier access to communications was a value to them, and if they wanted access for free or at a discount,” said Erin Eggleton, spokeswoman for Cellular One. “Basically, the focus group didn’t want things for free; they wanted equal access and availability.”
Wireline phones are oftentimes not an easy option for disabled people to use when they are in the city.
“Blind people are big users of cellular phones because it’s a hassle to look around for a public phone,” said Betsy Baya, acting director of technology policy for WID. In some areas, a public phone may be located too high for a wheelchair-user to reach, said Cellular One.
“Our experiences over the past four years have shown us that wireless is truly a unique tool for people with disabilities that enables them to enjoy greater independence, access and security,” said Sue Swenson, Cellular One’s president and chief executive officer.
For instance, a wheelchair-user may arrive at a building that is not wheelchair accessible. That person can use a cellular phone to call the building management staff for assistance. A person with impaired vision may miss a bus and can use a cellular phone to find out when the next one is scheduled to stop.
People who want to qualify for the Enable-Link program must submit an application and have their doctor verify that they either have no greater than 20/200 vision in the better eye with correction, require the use of a wheelchair or have severe difficulty walking without assistance. The company said it has about 2,000 people in the program.
Cellular One, a partnership between AirTouch Communications Inc. and AT&T Wireless Services Inc., said it is looking into providing cellular phones equipped with the Hearing Aid Telephone Interconnect System, a behind-the-ear t-coil coupler with a remote microphone, to people with hearing disabilities.
Cellular One said it recently won the “Council’s Recognition Award” from the Berkeley Council of the Blind.
The award is presented to businesses that have demonstrated an effort to make services and goods accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
