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July 17, 2012 – The FCC published in the Federal Register the final rule Hearing Aid Compatibility Technical Standard, adopting the 2011 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for measuring the hearing aid comparability of wireless phones.  HAC ensures that consumers have access to wireless communication services without experiencing interference from radio frequencies or other technical sources.

Ed Price, co-director on the Wireless RERC’s App Factory project was recently featured on NPR’s Marketplace discussing with John Moe, host of Marketplace’s Tech Report, Verizon’s recent testing of a text-to-911 system in Durham, NC.   During the radio segment Ed details some of the issues the text-to-911 solution faces, like how the 911 center currently does not know the exact location of the caller.  However, he also states that while the solution is not yet complete, it could be used as an interim solution for the deaf or hard of hearing.

04.18.12 – The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability For Forfeiture proposing a forfeiture of $819,000 against T-Mobile for violating the FCC’s rules for hearing aid compatible mobile handsets [47 CFR §20.19 (c)(2)(d)(2)].

04.09.2012 – The FCC issued a Third Report and Order (R&O) “In the Matter of Amendment of the Commission’s Rules Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets” [WT Docket No. 07-250] revising the Commission’s rules on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) technical standards.