Cellular Phone Access - Part 2

FCC Seeks Comments on Hearing Aid Compatibility with Mobile Phones

November 2001

Editor: You may know that the Federal government requires telephones to be hearing aid compatible - except for mobile phones, which have been granted a couple of exemptions. The FCC is now looking at the issue again, and they are soliciting comments. If you have thoughts you'd like to share with them, read on.

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The FCC released a Hearing Aid Compatibility Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) November 14, 2001 that addresses hearing aid compatibility with public mobile phone service devices. You can access this 30 page document on our web site at http://www.fcc.gov/cib/dro/.

Please make sure your comment letter references the NPRM, i.e., "Wireless Bureau Docket No. 01-309, RM-8658, in re Hearing Aid Compatibility."

The comment deadline is January 11, 2002 with a Reply Comment due date of February 11, 2002. The instructions for filing comments begin at NPRM Paragraph # 37. Comments may be filed electronically (instructions at NPRM Paragraph # 38). To read comments received into this docket, go to the FCC web site http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html and enter the docket number.

If you have questions about this Special Notice or would like the document in an alternate format, please contact us at Access@fcc.gov or the persons listed in NPRM Paragraph #45.

Disabilities Rights Office
Consumer Information Bureau
FCC, Washington, DC USA

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Digital Wireless Phones Now TTY-Compatible

June 2002

Editor: As you probably know, the FCC has established this Sunday, June 30, as the date for Digital Wireless Phone service to be TTY-compatible. The wireless phone companies have been working the issues for over a year, and it looks as if they are ready to go. Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and Cingular all claim to be in compliance.

Does that mean that you can start using your TTY with a wireless phone on Sunday? Probably not! Several compatible pieces of equipment are required for this technology to work.

First, of course, are the wireless phone networks provided by Sprint, AT&T, etc. Their equipment has been upgraded to provide services that are TTY-compatible. This seems to be complete.

A second requirement is a phone that is TTY-compatible. Not any digital phone will work. Phones currently in use are probably not compatible, so a new phone is in order.

Finally, the TTY must be compatible with the digital wireless equipment. I've not been able to determine if some/all/no existing TTYs will work with digital wireless.

For anyone considering using a TTY over a digital wireless network, I strongly recommend that you gather all the equipment you intend to use and try it out as a system before committing to anything. These wireless networks are huge; despite what the providers say, the service may not be available everywhere on day 1. The phones are new, and the TTYs may be new. Even if all these pieces work the way they were intended, it's almost certain (in my humble opinion) that glitches and incompatibilities will arise. So, check out what you're getting before you get it.

And if you do try it, please share your experiences with us. I know many people who are waiting with baited breath to see how this all turns out.

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FCC Grants Wireless TTY-Compatibility Delays

July 2002

Editor: Two weeks ago we published an article entitled "Digital Wireless Phones Now TTY-Compatible" in which we announced the pending completion of the TTY-Compatibility conversion for the digital wireless network. We advised that there may be some start-up problems, but we never envisioned that those problems would include additional delays in the implementation deadline.

The FCC has granted a multitude of extensions to companies who claimed to be unable to meet the June 30 deadline. It appears that an extension was granted to anyone who requested it. The longest extension I noticed was 18 months, to December 31, 2003. This is after repeated delays in the implementation date, which was originally planned for 1997.

For a list of companies who have received an extension, please point your browser to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/e911_appendix_a.html.

Here's the FCC announcement.

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The Commission's rules require that, by June 30, 2002, all digital wireless service providers must be capable of transmitting 911 calls made using text telephone (TTY) devices.

The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (FCC) has before it certain requests for waiver or extension of this deadline. In this Order, the Bureau disposes of these petitions by granting some of the requests in their entirety and by granting, in part, certain other of the petitions to afford the petitioners limited additional time within which to satisfy their obligations under the Commission's TTY rule.

This Order can be found in its entirety on the Consumers & Governmental Affairs' Disabilities Issues Website at www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/headlines.html.