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Safety
phones and helped develop a voluntary standard spons ored by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This standard
specifies test methods and performance requi rements for hearing
aids and wireless phones so that no interference occurs w hen a
person uses a “compatible” phone and a “compatible” hearing aid at
the same time. This standard was approved by the IEEE in 20 00.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones fo r possible
interactions with other medical devices. Should harmfu l interference
be found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference
and work to resolve the problem.
For more information, please visit the FDA website at
http://www.fda.gov/cellphones.
Emergency Calls
Never rely solely upon your wireless phone for essentia l
communications (e.g., medical emergencies), if it can be
avoided, since a wireless phone requires a complex combination of
radio signals, relay stations and landline networks for its operation.
Consequently, emergency calls may not always be possible
under all conditions on all wireless phone systems. Your wireless
phone, however, may sometimes be the only available means
of communication at the scene of an accident. When mak ing an
emergency call, always give the recipient all necessary informati on as
accurately as possible. Never terminate an emergency call until you
have received clearance to do so.

FCC Enhanced 911 (E911) Rules

Background

The Federal Communications Commiss ion (FCC) requires wireless
carriers to transmit specific latitude and longitude location (Automatic
Location Identification = ALI) information as well as “ 911” calls to
Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to identify the l ocation of
I