TAG

Registered charity number 1051222

Annual Report for the year to 31 December, 2005

TAG is constituted by adoption of a Constitution and registered as Charity No 1051222. Its address is 36 Victoria Street, Wetherby, Yorkshire LS22 6RE. This is the first full year of operating under its new name (it was formerly the Telecommunications Action Group until 27 October 2004) and the revised aims of embrace all forms of electronic communications, including both telecommunications and broadcasting, to reflect the legislative changes introduced by the Communications Act 2003 and the setting up of the regulator, Ofcom.

The charity trustees during the year to 31 December, 2005 were:

Mrs Ruth Myers - Chair

Mr Bill Pechey - Vice Chair

Mr R R Trotter - Secretary

Mr David M Myers - Treasurer

The Honorary Officers are the Trustees of TAG, they hold office for two years and are eligible for re-election bi-annually in rotation.

The member organisations of TAG are British Deaf Association, Deaf Broadcasting Council, Deafax, Deafness Support Network, deafPLUS, Hearing Concern, National Association of Deafened People, National Deaf Children’s Society, Royal Association in Aid of Deaf People, Royal National Institute for Deaf People, and Sense.

TAG’s mission is to promote equality of access to electronic communications, including telecommunications and broadcasting, for deaf, deafened, hard-of-hearing, deafblind people and sign language users, especially in terms of function and cost. A good working relationship has been established with Ofcom, PhoneAbility, BT Age and Disability Action and other bodies. TAG is represented on SG16, the Consumer Forum on Communications and the Consumer Expert Group, and is a member of the United Kingdom Council on Deafness. TAG responds to relevant industry documents and endeavours to attend as many events as possible to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing people have a ‘visible voice’. TAG monitors European issues and developments in EU Directives.

Four issues of our newsletter Sequel, which is distributed to approx 400 opinion formers and service providers, were produced in 2005. The magazine was substantially re-designed thanks to funding from Awards for All and ITV. It carried articles ranging from the need for a Universal Service Fund and the monitoring if subtitles to the lack of equipment for deafblind users and the refusal of some financial services to handle relay calls. Sequel is created by an editorial team led by Stephen Fleming, and TAG appreciates this work. The newsletter complements TAG’s website at www.tagcomm.org.uk which TAG’s webmaster, Geoff Brown, keeps up to date.

The main focus of TAG’s work in 2005 has been on universal service in telecommunications and access services in broadcasting. Ofcom launched a consultation on Universal Service at the start of the year, to which TAG responded in detail, and there was a further Statement in the middle of the year, which required a further response. TAG is concerned that the basis of Universal Service is becoming increasingly outdated, based on the fixed line communications that were the major means of telecommunications in the 1980s, and fails to recognise the changes in the way services are delivered using mobile telephony and broadband. TAG continues to argue that a Universal Service Fund should be set up ensure that there is a division between the funding of services and their management by the provider with significant market power. This work will continue into 2006 and for as long as is required to obtain the changes that are needed. The work on Universal Service overlaps with that on Ofcom’s Strategic Review on Telecommunications, to which TAG also responded.

The work on access services, especially subtitling and signing, is ongoing, both to ensure that the targets for these services continue to increase without a drop in quality, and also that they are properly monitored. TAG has held several meetings with relevant personnel at Ofcom and attended various meetings on this subject, both concerning the access service targets and revision of the guidelines for how they are delivered. Digital switchover is also taking up a larger amount of time as the deadline for the first region to switch off all analogue services in 2008 becomes closer. The complexity of the services offered – the various platforms and the range of equipment and features – means there is considerable work required ensuring the needs of the whole range of deaf users are kept in mind.

TAG also responded to Ofcom’s consultation on what was then called New Voice Services, but which is now normally known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and took part in several meetings with industry representatives to create a code of practice. There is a growing belief that VoIP will be the future of telecommunications, and TAG is therefore striving to ensure that these services are accessible to deaf users as they develop. TAG is also participating in a group set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to look into the development of a national SMS Emergency Service, as SMS services set up by individual police forces continue to proliferate.

TAG continues to develop contacts with mobile phone service providers and has held meetings with them. TAG continues to be disappointed that the mobile companies, with the exception of Vodafone, have failed to properly implement access to the relay service via TextDirect from their networks as required by General Condition 15, and that they have relied on solutions which require connecting a mobile handset to a textphone. TAG continues to press for improvements in BT TextDirect and the RNID Typetalk relay service for text users, and has held regular meetings with relevant managers in BT who are developing BT TextDirect 2.

TAG also liaises with and meets broadcasters to discuss issues of access for deaf people. TAG is represented at the Channel 4 Deaf Organisations meeting, the only broadcaster to hold such meetings on a regular basis, and also has contacts with various parts of the BBC, including those developing the iMP Player. TAG continues to lobby for new products such as this to be accessible to deaf people.

The Trustees appreciate the help and support given by member organisations and organisations with which we are in contact.

Declaration – I declare, in my capacity of charity trustee, that:

• the trustees have approved the report above; and
• have authorised me to sign it on their behalf.

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