O2 & accessibility

We want all our customers to get the best out of our services. Whatever their age. Whatever their needs and abilities. Here's what we're doing about it. If you would like to contact someone directly please contact us.

---

Accessible phones

Here are some phones we recommend for certain types of vision, hearing or mobility impairments.

Here are a few key features to look for when choosing a phone to suit your needs:

Hearing:

• Volume settings: phones with a loud maximum volume will be easier to hear when they ring. Volume control keys on the phone body makes it easier to control the volume while you talk.
• Vibrate: visual alerts and vibrate options are available on most phones.
• Hands free: an in-ear headset will cut out background noise and help you hear the conversation.
• Text-friendly: some phones are particularly adapted to heavy use of text messages, instant messaging and email. A large screen, predictive text, and a QWERTY keyboard can all help you communicate comfortably by text.
• Neckloop: some phones are compatible with inductive neckloops, meaning the sound from your phone can be wirelessly sent to your hearing aid.

Vision:

• Easy-to-use keypad: features like large buttons, a raised dot on the 5 key, back-lit keys or sound or touch feedback can help you use the keypad.
• Clear display: screens with changeable font size or backlighting can be easier to read.
• Speech recognition: some phones will allow you to dial a number by simply speaking the name or number.
• Hands free: using a headset means you don't have to search for your phone when it rings.
• Personalised ringtones: know who's calling by giving different ringtones to your contacts.
• Cameras with zoom: the zoom function on some camera phones can be used to magnify things.
• Speaking software: text to speech software can be installed on some phones so you can listen to text you have trouble reading.

Mobility & dexterity:

• Big buttons: phones that have large buttons can be easier to grip and use.
• Easy dialling: phones with speech-activated dialling, or speed dialling features make it easier to dial your favourite numbers.
• Text-friendly: some phones have handy texting features like pre-set messages or predictive text which reduce the number of keystrokes needed to send a text.
• Hands free: wireless headsets and loudspeaker functions mean you can have a conversation without having to hold your phone or even be next to it.

---

Accessible iPhone

Many accessibility features and apps available on the AppStore mean you can customise your iPhone to make it suit you. Find them at www.apple.com/accessibility

As part of our association with Irish Autism Action, we helped Lisa Domican, mother of two children with autism, to launch her app, Grace. Available on iTunes, Grace is an app to help children with autism to communicate better, using an iPhone. You can find out more about Grace here.

Find out more about iPhone

---

Picking the right price plan

We have plenty of price plans and options that can help you tailor your plan to how you use your phone. If you use a lot of text messages, for example, O2 Experience More with unlimited texts to any network might suit you best. If you’re more of a caller, you might prefer O2 Clear Unlimited calls to O2 and landlines.

You can read more about our priceplans here. If you'd like advice on which plan is the best one for you, pop in to our online forum or ask our experts. You can also drop into one of our O2 Stores or call customer care. Whatever suits you best.
 

---

Accessibility guides

ComReg and the National Disability Authority have been working with companies in the telecoms sector and representative disability organisations to put together a range of Accessibility guides. These guides will tell you how to pick a phone that best suits your needs, how to get the most out of your phone, your broadband, and what help you can get with costs.

Click here to view the Accessibility guides

 

---

Accessible web

We are working on making the o2.ie website accessible. Our goal is to reach and maintain a WCAG Double-A Standard for as much of the site as we can. In some areas of the site this isn’t yet possible for technical reasons. But we’re working on it.

Our accessible pages are structured so that they can be easily navigated with a keyboard (using Tab, Return and Space keys). They also contain WAI-ARIA regions that help compatible accessibility tools to navigate the site.

---

O2 Ability Awards

The O2 Ability Awards acknowledge organisations that recognise the contribution that people with disabilities - employees and/or customers - make to business, with the aim of changing business mindset through positive example.

Embracing diversity has always been at the heart of O2's business and our involvement with the Ability Awards has enabled us to learn ways in which we can take this commitment a step further for the benefit of our employees, customers and organisation as a whole.

Find out about the latest O2 Ability awards at theabilityawards.com.

Telephone Allowance

The Telephone Allowance is a payment towards your mobile phone or landline phone bill. You can get only one Telephone Allowance per household which can be used for either a mobile phone or landline but not both.

Landline phone: if you use the Telephone Allowance for your landline phone, it is paid as a credit on your phone bill.
Mobile phone: if you use the Telephone Allowance for your mobile phone, you can use it to pay your mobile phone bill or to buy credit for your phone. It is paid to you on the first Tuesday of every month. You can choose to have your allowance paid into a post office or a financial institution, for example, a bank. If you are being paid through a post office, using a social welfare services card, you have 56 days to collect your payment.

The value of the allowance is:

• €21.41 plus VAT of 21% each month

If you have a hearing or vision impairment, the Allowance covers the cost of renting a special telephone, subject to availability.

The Allowance does not cover the installation charge for the telephone.

The allowance can only be awarded if the telephone is registered in your own or joint names. If this is not the case, you should apply to your telephone service provider to have it changed.

If your house is divided into flats or apartments, you can only qualify for a Telephone Allowance if the telephone is registered in your name and is located in your private flat/apartment.

People aged 70 or over living in nursing homes who have their own telephone account or mobile phone may also qualify.

For more information visit the welfare website.