On June 9th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reaffirmed previously issued rules that will require some hearing-aid compatible phones by September 16th, 2005. Here’s a summary of the ruling:

Who the ruling applies to: The 5 national wireless providers (Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon)

What the ruling is: By September 16th, 2005, the above five carriers must make four of their handset models hearing aid-compatible. They must add a fifth model by 9/16/06, and must make 50% of their models hearing aid-compatible by 2/18/08. Additionally, the handsets that are hearing aid-compatible must be across the price spectrum (i.e., both low and high-end), so that all consumers needing these phones will have access to them.

If you’d like to read the entire FCC news release, click here