Reach 112 - Responding to all citizens needing help

REACH 112 (Responding to all citizens needing help) is an EC co-funded 3 year-project starting in July 2009 that intends to improve the accessibility of the EU emergency services through the 112 phone number for people with disabilities as well as person-to-person communication.

112 is the European emergency phone number, which anyone can call to contact emergency services (ambulance, fire-fighters and police) in any EU country. You can use the 112 from fixed phones, payphones, or mobile phones.
Calls to the 112 are always free of charge, while the service functions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
e-ISOTIS is partner in the REACH 112 consortium, a project with planned outcomes of direct benefit to people with special needs.
The project will implement an accessible alternative to traditional voice telephony that will be suitable for all.
Reach 112 aims to provide additional modes of communication for 112 such as live real-time text conversation, video with sign language, lip reading, voice or with any simultaneous combination of these modes described by the concept of Total Conversation.
The project consortium (22 partners from 9 EU member states) aims to satisfy the urgent need to improve access to emergency services for people with disabilities in the EU.
In the 12-month pilot in France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and UK communication devices will be provided in the homes, workplaces and on the move, connecting the users simultaneously in video, voice and text.
People with special needs will be able to use the devices users to communicate at a distance with each other and directly with the emergency services through 112.
Additionally, users will be able to connect between countries and different service providers, on mobile and fixed IP networks, while it is planned to integrate the service with existing telecommunication platforms and emergency service frameworks.
Third-party services (relay) with voice telephone users will also be involved.

For more information on REACH 112 project, please visit the project website www.reach112.eu.

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