Apple Fined for Not Filing Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report
How’s Your iPhone or Droid?
Using Your Cell Phone with Speakerphone Feature?
Apple Fined for Not Filing Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report
Apple, Inc. has been fined $5,000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for violating the requirement to file a wireless handset hearing aid compatibility status report by the FCC’s deadline. Although Apple was given an exemption from the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act requirements for the iPhone, it still must file reports. The company can choose to appeal this fine.
Consumer organizations have strongly disagreed with the exemption granted for the iPhone. Several individuals have sent complaints to the FCC on this, as well the iPhone’s disregard of Section 255 of the Communications Act. Section 255 requires companies that manufacture and provide telecommunications products and services to address the needs of people with disabilities at the time they design, develop and fabricate those products and services.
Some individuals with hearing loss have noted that the most recent version of the iPhone has better sound quality despite its lack of hearing aid compatibility. We’ve also heard from other individuals that the iPhone’s new competitor, Verizon’s Droid, has good sound quality. Because each individual’s hearing loss is unique, even these improvements in sound quality will not be enough, and NVRC strongly supports enforcement of the hearing aid compatibility requirements and Section 255..
How’s Your iPhone or Droid?
We are interested in hearing from individuals with hearing loss who have one of these phones about how satisfied they are with the audio and what, if anything, they use to make it more understandable.
Using Your Cell Phone with Speakerphone Feature?
Also a number of individuals with hearing loss have reported that they hear conversations better when their wireless phones are set to speakerphone mode.
– Cheryl Heppner, Executive Director, NVRC (Fairfax)
