We started our commitment with the "easy mobiles" that we are marketing in association with Tchibo. They have a simplified menu, large keys and extra loud ring tones. Our existing tariffs and services are already meeting specific needs for our customers with sight and hearing impairments. The O₂o tariff with no basic charge means that they only pay for services they can actually use. At the end of 2009, we started to develop special packages for people who experience difficulty hearing. These are scheduled for introduction in the second quarter of 2010.

Customer Service meets the special needs of people with disabilities by using appropriate communication channels. The classic telephone hotline is frequently inappropriate for people with hearing impairments and we also offer the option of communicating by email with our customer advisers. Moreover, we are also launching a pilot project in 2010 that will allow customers to chat with their adviser in real time.

Since the beginning of 2009, we have been engaging in an intensive dialogue with people suffering from disabilities, experts and interest groups with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the needs of current and potential customers. We have been conducting a strategic exchange with them directed towards finding out what we can do in order to optimise technologies, products and service packages for people challenged by disabilities. With this aim in mind, we set up the Online Discussion Forum www.diskutiere.de in 2009 together with the corporate citizenship organisation connecting business and society UPJ (Unternehmen Partner der Jugend) with the objective of initiating a debate. The motto of the online discussion was: "Bridge or barrier: What influence do advanced telecommunications exert on social integration of people with disabilities?" People with impairments directly affected and experts were invited to offer their views and come up with ideas. The results of the discussion were evaluated at the start of 2010, with presentation at a closing event in Munich.

Technologies that convert speech to text help lots of people with a hearing impairment to participate in communication. VerbaVoice GmbH has been cooperating with Telefónica O₂ Germany to develop this kind of service making it easier for people with hearing difficulties to access knowledge and information. This pilot project enables the spoken word to be converted into text. An Internet platform specially set up for this purpose then transfers the text to the mobile device of the individual with hearing difficulties with the assistance of innovative technologies and text interpretation procedures. The individual unable to listen on their mobile phone can still communicate with someone talking in virtually real time by reading what they are saying. O₂ is the joint-venture partner providing the necessary technology for the pilot phase and is developing attractive product solutions that are ultimately intended to create a tailormade package for people with impaired hearing.

Other successful tests are currently being carried out with this text interpretation service. One spin-off will enable young people with hearing difficulties to take part in lessons in regular schools with other children. Starting in autumn 2010, the service should also be available on mobile phones.

The Internet is based on text and visual stimuli and this makes it very difficult for people with visual impairments to access information here. Procedures that turn text into speech can empower them access this vast archive of information. O₂ first implemented a text-to-speech function for the Corporate Responsibility Report 2008 that was published in 2009 and also fitted our corporate portal with a similar service. We are going to be assessing the possibility of implementing a similar service for the customer portal during the coming year.

We signed a master contract with the Munich rehabilitation foundation Pfennigparade in December 2009. The aim was to become more familiar with the needs of people with disabilities in our own universe of experience within the company itself. The foundation helps and supports physically impaired individuals, and the aim of the partnership is to provide us with qualified IT technicians and other specialists in commercial and technical areas.