ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT OF ICT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN EUROPE

摘要

Public procurement represents an important segment of the ICT market in Europe. Ensuring that accessibility is addressed in the public procurement of ICT is seen as being both beneficial to users of publicly procured ICT and also as a way to drive up the overall accessibility of ICT products and services available in Europe. The European Commission issued Mandate 376 (M/376) on "European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain" to the three European Standards Organizations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI). This paper describes key features of the standard on "Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe" that was produced by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as part of ETSI's response to the mandate. It also addresses the many challenges that were encountered in developing a standard that was seen as very important by those who represent people who would benefit from more accessible ICT in the public sector and by those who supply the ICT.