For Immediate Release
ATIS 1200 G Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005	Contact: Trish St. Michel Phone: 202-434-8851 E-mail: tstmichel@atis.org www.atis.org

ATIS Technical Work for Industry Acknowledged by FCC

September 14, 2005, Washington – The technical work of the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Incubator was recognized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Thursday’s grant of temporary relief from certain HAC requirements for dual-band GSM phones.

The waiver, which was issued nine days before the September 16, 2005, deadline for HAC compliance, was substantially based on the technical issues and technical efforts by the members of ATIS’ HAC Incubator.

In particular, the ATIS HAC incubator identified challenges facing GSM wireless devices operating in both the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands. The ANSI C63.19 standard, which the FCC established as the HAC compliance benchmark for the industry, did not take fully into account the unique operating characteristics of devices operating in the 850 MHz band. The HAC Incubator’s Working Group 9 met with FCC officials over the past six weeks to inform it of these technical issues.

The ATIS Incubator members had also performed testing that indicated that, while compliance with the C63.19 standard presented difficulties for GSM devices in the 850 MHz band, users’ experiences with 850 MHz wireless devices were equivalent to their experiences with 1900 MHz devices.

As a result of the ATIS HAC Incubator’s work, the FCC granted a waiver, effective until August 1, 2006, which allows dual-band handsets to be rated as compliant if they are found to be HAC compliant in the 1900 MHz band.

“The HAC Incubator has provided a forum for the wireless industry and advocates for the hearing impaired to test handsets for compatibility with hearing aid devices, identify technical challenges and suggest solutions that serve the needs of both the hearing-impaired community and wireless companies,” said Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. “The Incubator will continue to work to resolve technical issues to help the industry provide the widest selection of HAC wireless devices possible.”

About ATIS

ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Participants from more than 350 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 23 industry committees and Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org

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