Rule2021-23845
Standards for Hearing Aid-Compatible Handsets
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 4, 2021
Effective
November 4, 2021
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the amendment of the Commission's rules governing standards for hearing aid-compatible handsets. This document is consistent with the Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 211 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 211 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60776-60778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23845]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 20
[WT Docket No. 20-3; FCC 21-28; FR ID-55565]
Standards for Hearing Aid-Compatible Handsets
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces
that the Office of Management and
[[Page 60777]]
Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information
collection requirements associated with the amendment of the
Commission's rules governing standards for hearing aid-compatible
handsets. This document is consistent with the Report and Order, which
stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal
Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the
information collection requirements.
DATES: The rule amendments contained in 47 CFR 20.19(f), (h)(1), and
(i), published at 86 FR 23614, May 4, 2021, are effective on November
4, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information contact
Cathy Williams, at (202) 418-2918 or via email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3f0d2c7dbca9de4dadfdfdad2dec0f3d5d0d09dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="adeeccd9c5d483fac4c1c1c4ccc0deedcbcece83cac2db">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on October 19,
2021, OMB approved the information collection requirements contained in
the Commission's Report and Order, FCC 21-28, published at 86 FR 23614,
May 4, 2021. The OMB Control Number is 3060-0999. The Commission
publishes this document as an announcement of the effective date of the
information collection requirements.
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB
approval on October 19, 2021, for the information collection
requirements contained in the revisions to Sec. 20.19(f), (h)(1), and
(i).
No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Numbers is 3060-0999.
The foregoing is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents
are as follows:
OMB Control No.: 3060-0999.
OMB Approval Date: October 19, 2021.
OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2024.
Title: Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report and Section 20.19,
Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets (Hearing Aid Compatibility Act).
Form Numbers: FCC Form 655 and FCC Form 855.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 934 respondents; 934
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 13.9710921 hours per response
(average).
Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting
requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and third-party disclosure
requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157, 160, 201, 202, 214, 301, 303, 308, 309(j),
310, and 610 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Total Annual Burden: 13,049 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Needs and Uses: The changes to the information collection concern
the Commission's wireless hearing aid compatibility rules as they
relate to the obligations of wireless handset manufacturers and
wireless service providers to: (1) Label and disclose certain
information related to handset packaging; (2) post certain information
on their publicly accessible websites; and (3) file annual status
reports and certification. No changes were made to the information
collection as related to standards development and the approved number
of estimated respondents and responses.
The revisions to the information collection were necessitated by a
Report and Order in WT Docket No. 20-3, FCC 21-28, adopted on February
16, 2021, published at 86 FR 23614, May 4, 2021. In the Report and
Order, the Commission adopted a new technical standard for determining
hearing aid compatibility between hearing aids and wireless handsets
and made other corresponding and implementation changes. In addition,
the Commission revised the information that handset manufacturers and
service providers must include on hearing aid-compatible wireless
handset package labels and in the related package inserts or user
manuals. The Commission revised the labeling rule to streamline the
rule and remove outdated requirements. The new rule requires that the
package label provide the volume control capabilities of a hearing aid-
compatible handset that meets volume control requirements, and it
maintains the requirement that a hearing aid-compatible handset's
package label state that the handset is hearing aid-compatible. The new
rule still requires hearing aid-compatible handsets to list the
handset's hearing aid-compatible rating but moves the location in which
it is required to be listed from the package label to the package
insert or user manual. The other requirements for package inserts and
user manuals have not changed, but the requirements have been
reorganized to make them easier to follow. The Commission's labeling
revisions continue to allow consumers to access the information that
they need to understand the hearing aid compatibility of handsets they
are considering for purchase. At the same time, the labeling revisions
give handset manufacturers and service providers flexibility in
designing package labels and conveying supplemental information.
The Report and Order also revised website posting requirements for
handset manufacturers and service providers. The revised rule requires
handset manufacturers and service providers to post to their publicly
accessible websites the technical standard used to determine hearing
aid compatibility in addition to the information that handset
manufacturers and service providers are presently required to post.
Further, the website posting requirement has been revised to eliminate
the requirement that service providers post to their publicly
accessible websites the different levels of functionality of the
hearing aid-compatible handsets that they offer to the public. This
change offsets any burden added by the requirement that service
providers post the technical standard used to determine hearing aid
compatibility.
Finally, the Report and Order addressed the status reporting and
certification requirements for handset manufacturers and service
providers. The Report and Order revised the dates that service
providers must file their FCC Form 855 certifications and handset
manufacturers must file their FCC Form 655 status reports. The forms
were due January 15 and July 15 each year, respectfully, and now are
due by January 31 and July 31. These changes were made to accommodate
Federal holidays at the start of January and July and to make sure the
forms contain information for the full preceding 12- month periods. The
Commission uses these forms as the principal way to ensure compliance
with its wireless hearing aid compatibility requirements. The
Commission also revised the forms to reflect the Commission's current
hearing aid compatibility de minimis provisions and to reflect the
Commission's new mailing address.
The changes that the Commission made to the wireless hearing aid
compatibility information collection benefit handset manufacturers and
service providers by reducing regulatory
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burden while continuing to ensure that the Commission can fulfill its
statutory obligation to monitor compliance with its hearing aid
compatibility rules and make more complete and accessible information
available to consumers.
Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-23845 Filed 11-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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