FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 28, 2008

TIA, the Communications Association, Applauds FCC Vote on Joint Consensus Plan

Plan's Approval Paves Way for Smart, Successful Hearing-Aid Compatibility for Mobile Handsets.

Washington, D.C. - The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), commended the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today for its vote to approve the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions' (ATIS) Joint Consensus Plan for rules governing hearing aid-compatible (HAC) mobile handsets. TIA also commended the hard work of the various industry representatives, regulators and consumer groups for their hard work in developing the Joint Consensus Plan, which changes the deadlines and percentage of HAC phone requirements for service providers and handset manufacturers.

"The FCC's approval of the Joint Consensus Plan is another step toward feasible, well-managed network access for all Americans," said TIA President Grant Seiffert. "TIA is pleased the FCC understands that the development of proper accessibility technologies should be handled through market forces rather than regulation. The industry-consumer collaborative process that led to the Joint Consensus Plan is very productive and should serve as a model in the future."

TIA expressed approval that the Commission allowed market-forces and industry-consumer collaboration, rather than regulation, to guide this decision, which results in more innovation and increased choice for the consumers, including those with hearing loss. Upon completion, TIA will review the order in its entirety.

For more information about TIA's work on accessibility issues, please contact Ian Martinez at 703.907.7723 or imartinez@tiaonline.org.

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About TIA
For almost three decades, TIA has leveraged its global resources to create the best possible business environment within which our 550+ members can research, develop, manufacture, market and sell their products and services worldwide. The association accomplishes this through its expertise in standards, advocacy, business development, market intelligence, environmental compliance and information security. TIA's policy team opened its Washington, D.C., headquarters on Capitol Hill in January 2008.

TIA's Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, Anda Networks, Arraycomm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar, Henkels & McCoy, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., OnSite Systems, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., QUALCOMM, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric, Lightwave Corporation, Telcordia Technologies, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, ILS Technology and Orca Systems.

For more information, visit www.tiaonline.org.