Sophia Antipolis, 20 May 2025
Last week, the ETSI Speech Transmission Quality (STQ) conference opened with a strong message: technology must serve all of society - not just the most profitable users. This international event brought together leading voices to examine the critical intersection of technology, accessibility, and user experience.
The conference featured a diverse group of speakers, including experts with hearing and visual impairments, who provided valuable, first-hand insights. Accessibility advocates from the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People, the Hearing Loss Association of America, and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals also took part in the discussions. All sessions were transcribed in real time by a human captioner, ensuring full accessibility.
Over the course of six sessions, topics ranged from the role of user information systems (UIS) in Quality of Experience (QoE), to speech transmission challenges for hearing-impaired users and the importance of accessibility in emergency communication services. A recurring theme was the need to embed accessibility into the core of technology design, rather than treating it as an afterthought. Participants stressed that inclusive tools benefit all users by enhancing overall communication quality.
ETSI TR 103 950 was referenced as a key framework for evaluating listening quality and cognitive effort, particularly with respect to gender-related factors in speech systems. Speakers also emphasized the importance of maintaining both legacy and emerging technologies, such as telecoils in hearing devices, alongside newer innovations like Auracast™.
The event also offered a great opportunity to test equipment from companies including Ampetronic, Sonova Group, GN Group, Samsung Electronics, and Auracast™.
In closing, participants agreed: accessibility is not a one-size-fits-all solution, it is about providing meaningful choices and respecting the diverse needs of every user.
ETSI and its members are working together in shaping a more accessible, inclusive future for everyone. Join us!
Presentations from the event are available here: https://shorturl.at/2WhhS.