The Wireless Industry: Making Wireless Accessible to All
April 2006

The enormous personal benefits of wireless mobile phones are mobility, convenience and safety. These are clearly important features for everyone, but especially so for individuals with disabilities. The wireless industry provides a variety of "easier to use" products and services to many individuals with disabilities and we are committed to making our products and services available to as many people as possible. More >

CTIA created a website www.accesswireless.org dedicated to making wireless telecommunications available to the greatest number of people possible. In particular, it is designed to give the disabled consumer a greater understanding of the wireless industry and some of those elements about wireless technology that people with disabilities may find especially useful.

Features of www.AccessWireless.org  

• Frequently asked questions for hearing aid wearers who want to purchase 
  digital wireless phones; 
• Listing of wireless phones and accessories to try if you wear a hearing aid; 
• Message board for consumers to share timely information about the   
  combinations of hearing aids and wireless phones that may work for you. 
• Links to National Carrier accessibility pages.

Hearing Aid Compatibility
The wireless industry is working hard to make handsets more compatible with hearing aids. It is the industry’s goal to meet the FCC mandates regarding handsets that comply with federal rules. National carriers currently offer wireless handsets for RF coupled hearing aids. More >

The next phase of the HAC mandate is scheduled for September 2006 and will address tele-coil coupled handsets for each air interface offered (e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA). Further, the industry has been working for more than three years with standards setting bodies to improve the testing standard originally adopted by the FCC. This reflects the industry’s commitment to meeting the needs of persons with disabilities.

CTIA and its members have engaged in a number of outreach opportunities with various consumer groups in an effort to better understand the concerns of all stakeholders, and share vital information about services and devices that are just now in the design stage but that might be of particular interest to wireless users with disabilities. As a demonstration of its commitment to understanding and serving the needs of the disabilities community, CTIA and its members engaged in the following events in 2006:   
 

• April 5, 2006 – CTIA Wireless® 2006 Accessibilities Workshop in Las Vegas
• June 30-July 3, 2006 – CTIA is a sponsor at the National Association of the Deaf in Palm Springs, California  
• June 30-July 3, 2006 – CTIA is a sponsor at the Hearing Loss Association of America (SHHH) Convention in Orlando, Florida