New European Standard entitled “EN 301 549 - Accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe”
The European Standardization Organizations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) have recently published a new European Standard on accessibility requirements for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) products and services.
The aim of the European Standard is to make ICT Products and services accessible for all. The standard is very important as it will ensure the procurement of ICT products and services in the private and public sector are accessible and available for all people.
The standard was approved on 28th January 2014 together with a series of accompanying Technical Reports:
- TR 101 550 – Documents relevant to EN 301 549 "Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe"
- TR 101 551 - Guidelines on the use of accessibility award criteria suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe
- TR 101 552 – Guidance for the application of conformity assessment to accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe
Together, these documents set out accessibility requirements that can be applied to a wide range of products and services related to ICT, including computers, smartphones and other digital devices, ticketing machines, websites and emails. The aim is to ensure that ICT products and services are accessible either directly or through compatibility with assistive technologies such as text-to-speech, so that everyone can access information and use services that are being delivered electronically.
For further information on the standard see the CENCENLEC website.
