Voices - Orange
How much of Orange's accessibility strategy comes from genuine customer need versus regulatory pressure?
I would say 80% is driven by fear of the law and 20% by consumer demand. Awareness sessions can help — when you put people in the shoes of those who suffer from bad design, they start paying attention. But a threat definitely works better. And the EAA helps a lot.
Orange had accessibility initiatives before, but to a lesser extent. Now the EAA is a huge trigger and a massive part of the budget we work with. France was ahead on this, which helped create the governance and structures I work with today.
Can you share an example where an accessibility investment initially made for compliance turned out to drive unexpected business value?
We have several stories, mainly from digital projects — for physical products we've only started compliance training this year, so we don't have enough data yet.
In customer-facing projects, we received feedback that the new designs were more comfortable and our services easier to understand. Orange also started providing French Sign Language interpreters for certain meetings. For many colleagues, it was the first time they could actually follow the discussion. That's the thing people forget — some individuals don't use your service simply because they know they can't. The moment they realise you've made the necessary changes, you gain new customers.
Dark mode is another example — customers were requesting it, and we added landscape mode for mobile apps too. People are genuinely grateful. We also fixed forms where colour-blind users couldn't understand what information was required. Now they can complete the process.
I should have kept better track of these success stories. Maybe we should write a book — the stories of previously excluded people finally being embraced are really motivating.
What is one accessibility challenge in telecom that keeps getting overlooked in policy discussions but is genuinely hard to solve?
Empathy. Sometimes people miss things because their outlook is too narrow. I've seen colleagues who didn't care until their own life changed or someone close to them started struggling. Then they suddenly understood.
As a large company providing services, accessibility should be your main focus because it's your business. You lose customers daily because they can't proceed to checkout, can't fill in forms, don't know the accepted phone number format. If I had a magic wand, I would change the lack of empathy in our industry.
If you could change one thing about the EAA to make it clearer or more effective, what would it be?
Make sure the standard is ready before asking anyone to follow it. That's fundamental. It's astonishing that compliance is requested without providing the right tools. You get people's attention with a big announcement, but then lose their focus because there's no clear way to address the requirements.
There might be good reasons — I used to work on standards in telco, and I know how long development takes. But there's a risk: companies panic, spend energy and money moving in circles, and then say "we've done everything, don't bother us anymore." You might have missed the moment.
Still, I'm grateful the EAA exists. It's a first step. Let's hope for clearer standards and stronger enforcement in the future.
How does Orange approach EAA implementation across different countries?
We stick to the European standard and tackle it country by country, because not everyone is ready. In Poland, for example, you might still need to develop structures to handle local responsibility. We have people from Belgium on the communication side, others from IT — accessibility involves many fields that aren't used to working together.
How do local teams react? They freak out. They ask us for help, not knowing what to do. We tell them to take it easy — no regulatory organisation is fully prepared yet. Belgium and Luxembourg seem most advanced. In other countries, like Poland, it's hard to find information. No one on our team speaks Polish, so local expertise is essential.
We provide the same deliverables everywhere: training in French and English, support for digital services and product projects, and reports showing where corrections are needed. Most people are lost because they don't know how to apply requirements and their regulators aren't ready either. That's another gap in the EAA — the directive was launched, laws were written locally, and everyone had to deal with their own politics.
I know that regulatory teams in France have less expertise than my team. Orange dedicates a bigger budget and more knowledge. For now, the risk of fines is low. The real risk is backlash — consumers saying "Orange isn't accessible for blind users." They have every right to do so, and that can damage the business far more than any fine.
What gives you hope?
Looking at the US, companies have organised themselves — you can't sell anything without an accessibility conformance report. It works because fines are higher and the system is mature. The EAA is just the first step for Europe.
Being transparent helps. That's why we share open-source materials, including an escape game used worldwide to raise awareness. Regulators appreciate that we know the subject and are genuinely trying. Things could be better — but at least we're moving forward.
Interview by Karolina Mendecka
Business Accessibility Forum Director