Cordless telephones have become popular supplements and
replacements for wireline telephones in many homes. They are also appearing as supplementary phones in business
telephone systems.
Cordless telephones are available in three technologies,
usually marked “25 channel”
(sometimes sold as "low frequency"), “900 Mhz.”, and “2.4
GHz.” The price, security,
clarity, and range of these telephones generally increase in the same order just
given.
Portability makes cordless telephones convenient for
people who have difficulty moving around, who do not want to rush to answer a
ringing telephone, or who might trip over a hard-to-see phone cord.
Many accessories are available that allow users to wear or carry cordless
phones conveniently, or attach them to wheelchairs or walkers.
Current models offer a wide range of supplementary
features as well as improved range and clarity.
Some hard of hearing consumers indicated that they found some models much
clearer than others:
A hard of hearing user:
“The one I just got is so much better.
I can hear everything … again.”
However, some
consumers claimed that no cordless telephone, even on its loudest setting, was
as loud as a standard wireline telephone:
Two hard of hearing users:
“That volume switch is no good for me at all.
It just doesn’t get loud enough – or any louder at all, as far as I
can tell.”
“Volume control – the only bad thing about the
phone, just not loud enough unless I go into a quiet room.”
We are not aware of any rigorous tests that would confirm
the acoustic advantages of one technology over another from the perspective of
individuals with hearing disabilities. See
Recommendation D2.
The telephones are usually stored in a charging cradle
when not in use. In vertical
cradles the phones stand straight up; this may allow for easier grasping for
some people and for permanent connection to amplifiers and headsets. In horizontal cradles the phones lie down.
Some horizontal cradles allow the phone to be face up or face down.
When face up, the phones can be used while still in the stable cradle;
this may be an advantage for some people with mobility impairments. The force and grip strength required to remove the phone from
a horizontal cradle varies widely among models.
A user with a manipulation impairment:
“Mine is fine, but the one at my brother’s house is
stuck into the holder by a spring … it’s too hard for me to take out.”
Cordless telephones with a “page” feature cause the
handset to beep when a button is pressed on the base unit. This allows people who have difficulty locating the handset
due to a visual or cognitive impairment to find it more easily.
A user with low vision:
“I use the page all the time to find the phone.
Or I would have to use the other phone.”
Several hard of hearing respondents indicated that they
liked to carry the cordless phone around with them because they could be sure to
hear it ring. Two respondents used
the cordless phone solely as a “portable ringer.”
A hard of hearing user:
“The volume isn’t high enough for me on the phone itself, so I carry it around just to hear when it rings. Then I go to the regular phone with the amplifier to take the call.”
1193.41(c) Operable with little or no color perception.
1193.41(f) Operable with limited reach and strength.
1193.41(g) Operable without time-dependent controls.
1193.41(h) Operable without speech.
1193.43(f) Prevention of visually-induced seizures.
1193.43(h) Non-interference with hearing technologies.
1193.43(i) Hearing aid coupling [by HAC Order].
1193.51(c) Compatibility with prosthetics.
1193.51(e) TTY signal compatibility.
A related product is the “cordless jack” This is a device that uses the same technology as a cordless phone, but lacks the phone. The base station is connected to the wireline telephone line. The remote station consists of a small base with an antenna and an RJ-11 jack. The user can plug any compatible device (such as a laptop with a modem or a direct connect TTY) into this jack and place or receive calls.