FCC Record, Volume 28, No. 11, Pages 8831 to 9715, June 17 - July 5, 2013 Page: 8,846
viii, 8831-9715 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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interference (the M rating) and inductive coupling (the T rating)s that digital wireless handsets
must meet to be considered compatible with hearing aids operating in acoustic coupling and
inductive coupling (telecoil) modes, respectively. For each of these standards, the Commission
further established deadlines by which manufacturers and service providers were required to offer
specified numbers or percentages of digital wireless handsets per air interface6 that are compliant
with the relevant standard.7 In February 2008, as part of a comprehensive reconsideration of the
effectiveness of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Rules, the Commission released an order that,
among other things, adopted new compatible handset deployment benchmarks beginning in
2008.
3. On January 17, 2011, Airadigm submitted its annual hearing aid compatibility
status report for the January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 reporting period.9 The Commission's
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Wireless Bureau) subsequently referred Airadigm's
apparent hearing aid-compatible handset deployment violations during the January 1, 2010 to
December 31, 2010 reporting period to the Bureau's Spectrum Enforcement Division (Division)
for investigation and possible enforcement action. On December 23, 2011, the Bureau issued the
Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Telephones, Report and Order, 18 FCC Rcd 16753, 16787, para. 89
(2003); Erratum, 18 FCC Rcd 18047 (2003) (Hearing Aid Compatibility Order); Order on Reconsideration
and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 20 FCC Red 11221 (2005).
s As subsequently amended, Section 20.19(b)(1) provides that, for the period beginning June 6, 2008 and
ending December 31, 2009, a newly certified wireless handset is deemed hearing aid-compatible for radio
frequency interference if, at minimum, it meets the M3 rating associated with the technical standard set
forth in either the standard document "American National Standard Methods of Measurement of
Compatibility between Wireless Communication Devices and Hearing Aids," ANSI C63.19-2006 (June 12,
2006) or ANSI C63.19-2007 (June 8, 2007). Beginning January 1, 2010, a newly certified handset must
meet at least an M3 rating under ANSI C63.19-2007 to be considered hearing aid-compatible for radio
frequency interference. 47 C.F.R. 20.19(b)(1). Section 20.19(b)(2) provides that, for the period
beginning June 6, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009, a newly certified wireless handset is deemed
hearing aid-compatible for inductive coupling if, at minimum, it meets the T3 rating associated with the
technical standard as set forth in ANSI C63.19-2006 or ANSI C63.19-2007, and beginning January 1,
2010, it is deemed hearing aid-compatible for inductive coupling if it meets at least a T3 rating under ANSI
C63.19-2007. 47 C.F.R. 20.19(b)(2). Grants of certification issued before June 6, 2008, under previous
versions of ANSI C63.19 remain valid for hearing aid compatibility purposes. A recently adopted further
amendment to Section 20.19(b) of the Rules will permit manufacturers to test handsets for hearing aid
compatibility using the 2011 version of the ANSI standard (ANSI C63.19-2011) as an alternative to ANSI
C63.19-2007. See Amendment of the Commission's Rules Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile
Handsets, Third Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd 3732 (WTB/OET 2012).
6 The term "air interface" refers to the technical protocol that ensures compatibility between mobile radio
service equipment, such as handsets, and the service provider's base stations. Currently, the leading air
interfaces include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM), Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA) a/k/a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).
7See Hearing Aid Compatibility Order, 18 FCC Rcd at 16780, para. 65; 47 C.F.R. 20.19(c), (d).
SSee Amendment of the Commission's Rules Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, First
Report and Order, 23 FCC Red 3406 (2008) (Hearing Aid Compatibility First Report and Order), Order on
Reconsideration and Erratum, 23 FCC Red 7249 (2008).
9 See Airadigm Communications, Inc. Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report (filed Jan. 17, 2011),
available at http://wireless.fcc.gov/hac_documents/110210/5947902_278.PDF.8846
Federal Communieations Commission
DA 13-1346
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 28, No. 11, Pages 8831 to 9715, June 17 - July 5, 2013, book, July 2013; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc236190/m1/29/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.