the following info comes from Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing:
FCC Mandates Cell Phone Compatibility with Hearing Aids- ANSI C63.19
FCC Mandates Cell Phone Compatibility with Hearing Aids- ANSI C63.19
March 22, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
Mobile phone manufacturers have one year to comply with a US Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) mandate requiring mobile handsets built or
used in the US to comply with the American national standard for cell
phone-hearing aid compatibility.
Issued in 2003, the mandate is intended to ensure that new mobile phones
available on the market are accessible to individuals using hearing aids.
According to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), mobile phone
manufacturers and service providers will have to ensure that at least 50%
of all handsets marketed in the US meet the requirements of ANSI
C63.19:2006 - Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless
Communications Devices and Hearing Aids by Feb. 18, 2008.
Approved as an American national standard in 2001, ANSI C63.19 was
developed by the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) C63 on
electromagnetic compatibility, a group administered by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
A measurement standard for hearing aid compatibility with wireless
communications devices, ANSI C63.19-2006 aims to achieve an acceptable
level of performance between cell phones and hearing aids by reducing the
interference of radio frequency emissions.
The standard defines emissions and immunity-to-interference requirements,
as well as test methods to determine the level of interoperability between
the devices. The standard is intended to apply to all types of hearing aids
with acoustic output.
According to ANSI, an estimated 28 million Americans have some degree of
hearing impairment; by 2030, this number is expected to double. The Hearing
Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 (HAC Act) directed the FCC to ensure that all
telephones manufactured or imported for use in the US, and all "essential"
telephones - including phones provided for emergency use, coin-operated
phones and phones in the workplace, hospitals, nursing homes and hotel
rooms - be hearing aid-compatible.
The increasing reliance on wireless mobile phones for business and personal
use, coupled with the growing number of technologically-savvy baby boomers,
led the FCC to put pressure on wireless carriers and equipment
manufacturers to increase the number of hearing aid-compatible wireless
phones available on the market.
IEEE C63.19 2007-JAN-01 • Active/Current •
Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications
Devices and Hearing Aids
This standard applies to both wireless communications devices (WDs) and
hearing aids. It sets forth uniform methods of measurement and parametric
requirements for the electromagnetic and operational compatibility and
accessibility of hearing aids used with WDs, including cordless, cellular,
personal communications service (PCS) phones, and voice over internet
protocol (VoIP) devices, operating in the range of 800 MHz to 3 GHz.
However, this version is focused on existing services, which are in common
use. Accordingly, in this version tests are provided for services in the
800 MHz to 950 MHz and 1.6 GHz to 2.5 GHz frequency bands. Future versions
may add test for other frequency bands, as they come into more common use.
This standard is intended to apply to all types of hearing aids with
acoustic output, including, as examples, behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear
(ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), and completely-in-the-canal (CIC) types. Test
methods are provided for hearing aids operating in acoustic (microphone
input) mode or in T-Coil input mode.
The field levels called for in various places shall be maintained within
the limits for radio frequency (RF) safety, set forth in ANSI C95.1-1999.1
Posted via email from Ann Reflection
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