Protection of Persons with Disabilities

HAKOM pays particular attention to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities when using electronic communications services. In order to remove barriers that may prevent persons with disabilities from fully and effectively participating in society, HAKOM’s key activities focus on ensuring that all users have equal access to and use of services, as well as on raising public awareness of the need for ongoing, collective action to identify and eliminate such barriers.

Given that current regulations define certain obligations of operators towards persons with disabilities, part of HAKOM’s work is dedicated to monitoring their implementation. These obligations include providing adapted equipment and services, accurate and comprehensible service descriptions, the designation of a contact person for assistance, access to emergency services for deaf persons, prioritised fault repairs, and the provision of contracts and bills in formats accessible to persons with visual impairments.

By decision of HAKOM, the operators A1 Hrvatska d.o.o., Hrvatski Telekom d.d., and Telemach Hrvatska d.o.o. are, as part of the provision of the universal service (USO), required to offer affordable tariff options or service packages (including internet access and voice communication services) tailored to socially vulnerable groups of users, including, among others, persons with disabilities.

HAKOM carries out a series of activities in collaboration with the academic community, associations for the protection of persons with disabilities, civil society, and other public bodies. In addition to annual meetings where representatives of different social groups come together to jointly identify issues and ways to alleviate and eliminate them, continuous efforts are made in the development of new application solutions. The result of these collaborations is the development of applications:

Every year, HAKOM organizes the international conference "Accessible Future" addressing topics related to solving issues faced by people with disabilities in modern society. HAKOM actively participates in the work of the Competence Network ICT-AAC, whose members collaborate on education, research, development, and innovation programs. They are involved in the preparation and implementation of projects and establish and maintain a direct dialogue with European and national government bodies and agencies responsible for the development of an inclusive society.

With the aim of continuously promoting the interests of people with disabilities, HAKOM invites all interested individuals and legal entities to submit their proposals and/or comments via email to pristupacnost@hakom.hr.