[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29513-29514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11399]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for 
Review to the Office of Management and Budget

May 13, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the 
following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid 
control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before June 20, 2008. If you anticipate that you will 
be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, (202) 395-5887, or via fax at 202-395-5167 or 
via internet at [email protected] and to [email protected], Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to 
[email protected]. To view a copy of this information collection request 
(ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the web page called 
``Currently Under Review'', (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in 
the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, 
(4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of 
agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the 
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, and (6) 
when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the 
title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then 
click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about 
this ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-
0214 or via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0999.
    Title: Section 20.19, Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets 
(Hearing Aid-Compatibility Act).
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 925 respondents; 950 responses.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 13.2 hours average burden per 
response.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting 
requirements and third party disclosure requirement (labeling/posting 
requirements).
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 12,600 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information requested in the 
reports may include confidential information. However, covered entities 
would be allowed to request that such materials submitted to the 
Commission be withheld from public inspection (see 47 CFR 0.459 of the 
Commission's rules).
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information 
collection (IC) to the OMB as a revision during this comment period to 
obtain the full three-year clearance from them. This information 
collection was pre-approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) when the Commission adopted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 
12/27/07.
    [Previously approved was a Report and Order adopted in 2003 in 
which the Commission modified the exemption for telephones used with 
public mobile services from the requirements of the Hearing Aid 
Compatibility Act of 1988 (HAC Act). The Order required digital 
wireless phone manufacturers and service providers to make certain 
digital wireless phones capable of effective use with hearing aids. As 
part of that Order, manufacturers and service providers

[[Page 29514]]

were required to label certain phones they sold with information about 
their compatibility with hearing aids, and also to report to the 
Commission (at first every six months, then on an annual basis) on the 
number and types of hearing aid-compatible phones they were producing 
or offering to the public.]
    Now, the Commission has adopted and released a Report and Order, 
FCC 08-68, which updated several of the performance benchmarks for 
manufacturers and service providers, instituted new requirements for 
manufacturers to refresh their product lines and for service providers 
to offer hearing aid-compatible handset models with differing levels of 
functionality, adopted a new version of the technical standard for 
measuring hearing aid compliance, and addressed the application of the 
rules to phones that operate in multiple frequency bands or air 
interfaces. To assist the Commission in monitoring the implementation 
of the new requirements and to provide information to the public, the 
Report and Order also requires manufacturers and service providers to 
continue to file annual reports on the status of their compliance with 
these requirements, and requires manufacturers and service providers 
that maintain public Web sites to publish up-to-date information on 
those Web sites regarding their hearing aid-compatible handset models. 
The annual reports required in this Order contain different and 
additional information than in previous versions of this information 
collection (see above). Those requirements, along with the requirement 
to post certain information on Web sites, are intended to give 
consumers the information they need to navigate a technically complex 
and rapidly changing world of hearing aid-compatible wireless phones, 
and to allow the Commission to monitor compliance with its new 
regulations. Finally, in order to avoid potential consumer confusion 
over technical capabilities, the Order modified the product labeling 
requirements slightly.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-11399 Filed 5-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P