PHONES - THREAT TO HEARING AID USERS

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1993 18:10:41 +0100
From: Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk
Subject: EuroDigital


The attached article about a new digital phone service, about to be launched
in the UK, is from the Monday, Sept 6, 1993, issue of The Independent. Also in
this issue was a two page advertisement for the new service - the text of this
is also attached.  My understanding is that the new equipment produces
emissions that have characteristics that were not considered when the
regulations and guidelines (under which existing devices such as hearing aids
were designed) were laid down. If this is right, then the statement by the
providers of the new service that the problems are the responsibility of the
manufacturers of such devices would seem to be highly questionable. I await
with interest RISKs readers' reactions to the article (and the advertisement).


Brian Randell, Dept. of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk PHONE = +44 91 222 7923


                              ===========


PHONES - THREAT TO HEARING AID USERS
Mary Fagan


More than two million people who are deaf or hard of hearing face distress and
discomfort with the launch this autumn of new digital mobile telephone
equipment that interferes with hearing aids, according to the Royal National
Institute for the Deaf.  The telephones could also cause interference if used
close to computer screens, and there is speculation that they could cause
problems with other electronic equipment.


Last week, Vodafone launched a digital mobile telephone service and Mercury's
One-2-One digital service will be onstream within weeks. Cellnet hopes to
start a commercial service next year.


The new telephones send pulses of radio signal rather than the continuous
signal sent by existing analogue cellular telephones. According to the RNID,
when these pulsed signals are transmitted close to audio and video equipment
they are picked up in wiring, causing interference.


Mike Martin, the RNID's chief scientist, said hearing aid users standing up
to six feet from a handheld mobile phone could be affected. More powerful
car phones could affect pedestrians.


The telephones can cause people wearing hearing aids to hear a noise like a
bee buzzing. It can drown out other sound and cause pain and considerable
distress, a spokesman for the RNID said.


Cellnet and Vodafone admit there can be problems with hearing aids and
computer screens. But the companies say the problem is with the telephones
- which they do not manufacture - and with the equipment affected by them.


A spokesman for Vodafone said that the real problem was the standard of
hearing aids. In Germany, where there has been most experience with digital
telephony, no problems have been experienced.


A spokeswoman for Mercury One-2-One said that as the telephones used on
One-2-One were very low-power, only equipment very close by could be
affected.
                            -----
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