174
Safety
phones and helped develop a voluntary standa rd sponsored by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IE EE). This standard
specifies test methods and performance requ irements for hearing
aids and wireless phones so that no interference oc curs when 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 pho nes for possible
interactions with other medical devices. Should ha rmful interference
be found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to assess the interferen ce
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 ess ential
communications (e.g., medical emergencies), if it can be
avoided, since a wireless phone requires a complex combinati on of
radio signals, relay stations and landline networks for i ts 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. Wh en making an
emergency call, always give the recipient all necessary inf ormation as
accurately as possible. Never terminate an emergency call until yo u
have received clearance to do so.

FCC Enhanced 911 (E911) Rules

Background

The Federal Communications Com mission (FCC) requires wireless
carriers to transmit specific latitude and longitude location (Automatic
Location Identification = ALI) information as we ll as “911” calls to
Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to identif y the location of
I