A new mandate is intended to make our most-used tech more accessible.
I’m a loud proponent for accessibility in tech, though, sadly, I don’t get to celebrate it often. This week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission delivered a rare win by mandating that all mobile phones be hearing aid compatible.
The new mandate, announced Thursday, also discouraged phone manufacturers from incorporating proprietary Bluetooth standards on their products as that could potentially complicate the process of connecting to hearing aids. Instead, it established a new Bluetooth pairing requirement that should facilitate a simpler and more universal connectivity between smartphones and hearing aids. The idea is to ensure that folks with hearing loss are not limited in the phones they can opt for.
