Mobile World Congress is an annual trade show organised by the GSMA, dedicated to the mobile communications and technology industries. The event is held in Barcelona, usually in February, and is attended by device manufacturers, network providers, and the press, among others. Its annual attendance is generally around 100,000 people, all descending on the event to share, learn, and discuss the future of mobile technology, with phone manufacturers often using the conference to unveil upcoming devices and innovation.

Policy makers and advocacy groups also attend the event (including the Valuable 500!) In 2019, GSMA hosted the WMC19 Ministerial Meetings where policy makers discussed with innovators, industry leaders, and regulators about policy on digital transformation. One insightful comment came from OECD Secretary-General, Ángel Gurría, who argued that the biases, beliefs, and prejudices with which technology is developed, trialled, and used make it a powerful tool to either advance or discourage inclusion.

Angel Gurria speaking at MWC19
Angel Gurria speaking at MWC19.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the power and potential of technology to enable connection. From video conferencing to grocery shopping on our phones, innovations in technology and communication have allowed people around the world to connect and collaborate virtually in new ways over the past two years.

But for people with disabilities, digital connection is even more important. According to the United Nations, communication is a fundamental human right and for many people with disabilities, isolated for long periods of time (especially during the pandemic), it is often only possible to communicate digitally.

Thankfully, in recent years, there have been some major inclusion breakthroughs when it comes to digital communications, which have massively benefited the disabled community. Software advances such as captioning features on video conferencing platforms like Microsoft Teams and social media platforms like Instagram have enabled making calls and watching videos online more accessible to the D/deaf communities.

In May 2021, tech giant Apple also launched a series of powerful new software features designed for people with mobility, vison, hearing and cognitive disabilities, including a new service called SignTime, which enables customers to communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care by using sign language, right in their web browsers. Among Apple’s other updates were AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch to support users with limited mobility, and VoiceOver, an industry-leading screen reader for blind and low vision communities.

 

 

Hardware developments such as smartphone-ready hearing aids have also been hugely beneficial for people with disabilities. Major technology companies have been working with hearing aid designers to ensure their handsets are compatible with the hearing aids that people rely on every day.

Other hardware developments include smart glasses, which use a camera and connectivity to bring assistance to people with visual impairments. Brands such as AIRA use trained assistants to provide spoken feedback about what the user is looking at, effectively offering a pair of eyes to guide people through unfamiliar routes, indoor surroundings or outfits!

However, while innovations like these can foster inclusion, it is equally important that digital communications technology doesn’t conversely create barriers for people with disabilities.

Recently, GSMA, the industry organisation representing the interests of mobile providers, released a report revealing that the global disabled community have lower levels of mobile ownership than their non-disabled counterparts. The research found that the disability gap typically widens at each stage of the mobile internet journey. In almost all the countries surveyed, disabled users were more likely to own basic phones, which have either no or fewer built-in accessibility features and may not be internet-enabled. In September, the World Economic Forum also published the revelation that Americans with disabilities are three times more likely to never go online than those without a disability (15% vs. 5%).

Lack of accessibility of online services is another key problem facing the disabled community. Whilst the internet can enable easier access to banking, healthcare, employment, and entertainment, a lack of accessibility excludes people with disabilities from these fundamental services. At a time when the pandemic has accelerated digital transformations across the globe, it is more essential than ever that tech companies continue to adapt to include the disabled population. In June 2020, a review of 10,000,000 websites carried out by accessiBe found that 98% of menus and 71% of online forms failed to meet accessibility guidelines.

This is a problem Telecommunications company Verizon is trying to solve by co-founding Teach Access, a coalition of top tech companies, major universities, and leading advocacy organizations on a mission to infuse accessibility concepts and skills into higher education curriculums. Together, they empower students studying design, computer science, and human-computer interaction with the knowledge necessary to create a more inclusive and accessible world. Talking about the programme in a recent Valuable Leader conversation, CEO of Verizon, Hans Vestberg, said accessibility has “been in our genes and in our values for a long time and of course we’re trying to get better all the time, learn all the time.”

Caroline Casey and Hans Vestberg

Another key problem is lack of access to assistive technology such as screen-readers, adaptive keyboards and pointing devices. Although the use of digital Assistive Technology is proven to enhance the independence and productivity of disabled people, many people with disabilities are not able to benefit from it. The GSMA estimates that approximately 90% of the global population do not have adequate access to the assistive technologies (AT) they require. This is due to a number of factors such as cost and lack of awareness.

With the global mobile ecosystem gathering for Mobile World Congress 2022 later this month, we want to encourage mobile providers to realise the benefits of designing with inclusion and accessibility in mind. Those that do will see the benefit of appealing to a market worth $13 trillion every year, made up from the disposal income of people with disabilities and their friends and family – constituting a massive 70 percent of the global population.

Valuable 500 Founder, Caroline Casey, recently spoke to Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, who said “Mobile connectivity is a massive enabler to reach the sustainable development goals. People living with a disability face obstacles that could be overcome with technology that better serves them. It can play a major role in ensuring that people feel part of the community and ultimately can contribute more to society.”

Caroline Casey and Mats Granryd

Designing for people with disabilities means better design for everyone and the benefits are huge. It’s important not to forget that so much of the technology we take for granted today was originally designed with disability in mind. The typewriter, the ancestor of modern keyboards, was created to enable blind people to type, while the remote control was designed to make television more accessible to people with limited mobility. And speech-to-text and voice recognition software? You’ve got it – that was originally designed for people with disabilities too.

When we design technology to be accessible, we drive innovation and lay the path for the next generation of progress. We need the mobile and technology industries to act as a force for enabling and driving inclusion, to create a better world for all.