[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37591-37592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16386]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 20
[WT Docket No. 17-228, FCC 18-167]
Revisions to Reporting Requirements Governing Hearing Aid-
Compatible Handsets
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance dates.
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SUMMARY: The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB or the Bureau)
announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved
the information-collection and recordkeeping requirements associated
with the recently amended hearing aid compatibility provisions
addressing wireless service provider record retention, website posting,
and certification filing requirements and announces the date by which
service providers must be in compliance with these provisions.
DATES: Effective August 1, 2019.
Compliance Dates: Compliance with 47 CFR 20.19(e), (h) and (i) is
required as of September 3, 2019. The Sec. 20.19(i) service provider
certification filing requirement must be completed between the
compliance date and no later than 30 days after the compliance date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susannah Larson, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-1883 or via email:
[email protected]. For additional information concerning the
Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements contact
Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918 or via email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that OMB approved
the information collection requirements in revised Sec. Sec. 20.19(e),
(h), and (i) on June 25, 2019. Revised Sec. 20.19(e) addresses the
reporting and certification requirements applicable to de minimis
wireless service providers. Revised Sec. 20.19(h) sets forth service
provider website posting and record retention obligations and revised
Sec. 20.19(i) sets forth service provider annual certification
requirements. The Commission adopted these revised rules in the
following Report and Order Revisions to Reporting Requirements
Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, FCC 18-167, published
at 83 FR 63098 on December 7, 2018 (Report and Order).
The Report and Order provides that the Bureau will publish a
document in the Federal Register announcing compliance dates for
revised Sec. Sec. 20.19(e), (h), and (i) once OMB approval is obtained
for the paperwork burden associated with these sections. Further, the
Report and Order states that the Bureau will revise Sec. 20.19(m) once
OMB approval is obtained for Sec. Sec. 20.19(e), (h), and (i) and a
compliance date for these sections is established. Section 20.19(m)
states that compliance with the paperwork obligations of Sec. Sec.
20.19(e), (h), and (i) is not required until OMB approval is obtained
and a compliance date is established. The other rule amendments that
the Commission adopted in the Report and Order did not require OMB
approval and compliance with those rule sections was required as of
January 7, 2019. See Report and Order at 83 FR 63098 (Dec. 7, 2018).
With respect to Sec. Sec. 20.19(e) and (h), service providers must
be in compliance with these sections by the compliance date set out
above, except to the extent that these sections reference the Sec.
20.19(i) certification requirement. With respect to the Sec. 20.19(i)
certification requirement, service providers may begin filing their
certifications on the compliance date announced above and must have
their certifications filed with the Commission within 30 days of that
date. Service providers will be using new electronic FCC Form 855 to
make their certifications. The OMB approved instructions for how to
fill out and file the electronic FCC Form 855 certification will be
available on the hearing aid compatibility section of the FCC website
starting on the compliance date listed above. We remind service
providers that the initial certifications
[[Page 37592]]
that they will be filing cover the 2018 reporting period (i.e., from
January 2018 through December 2018). Certifications covering the 2019
reporting period will be due by January 15, 2020 and then by January 15
following each subsequent reporting period.
The OMB Control Number for the information collection requirements
associated with Sec. Sec. 20.19(e), (h), and (i) is 3060-0999. If you
have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the
Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused
thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications
Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554.
Please reference OMB Control Number 3060-0999 in your correspondence.
The Commission will also accept your comments via email at [email protected].
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received final
OMB approval on June 25, 2019, for the information collection
requirements contained in the revisions to Sec. Sec. 20.19(e), (h),
and (i).
Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB
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
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number for this information collection is 3060-0999.
The foregoing notice 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 Number: 3060-0999.
OMB Approval Date: June 25, 2019.
OMB Expiration Date: June 30, 2022.
Title: Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report and Section 20.19,
Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets (Hearing Aid Compatibility Act).
Form Number: FCC Form 655 and FCC Form 855.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
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 requirement and third-party disclosure
requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47
U.S.C. 154(i), 303(r), and 610.
Total Annual Burden: 13,049 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information requested in the
reports and certifications may include confidential information.
However, covered entities are allowed to request that such materials
submitted to the Commission be withheld from public inspection.
Needs and Uses: In the Report and Order, the Commission revised the
information that wireless service providers must post on their publicly
accessible websites concerning the hearing aid compatibility of the
handsets that they offer and required service providers to retain this
information on their websites for a period of time for those handsets
that a service provider stops offering. The Commission took these steps
to improve the information that is available to consumers about the
hearing aid compatibility of wireless handsets offered by service
providers and to make sure that consumers have access to this
information for handsets that they might be using but are no longer
being offered by their service provider. Further, the Commission
reduced regulatory burden by eliminating the requirement that service
providers annually file electronic FCC Form 655 and replaced this
requirement with an annual streamlined certification requirement to be
completed using the Commission's new electronic FCC Form 855. Handset
manufacturers, however, will continue to annually file electronic FCC
Form 655. Electronic FCC Forms 655 and 855 are the principle means by
which the Commission ensures that handset manufacturers and service
providers are in compliance with the Commission's hearing aid
compatibility provisions.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 20
Communications common carriers, Communications equipment, Radio.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
Final Rules
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 20 as follows.
PART 20--COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICES
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1. The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows.
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152(a) 154(i), 157, 160, 201, 214,
222, 251(e), 301, 302, 303, 303(b), 303(r), 307, 307(a), 309,
309(j)(3), 316, 316(a), 332, 610, 615, 615a, 615b, 615c, unless
otherwise noted.
Sec. 20.19 [Amended]
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2. Amend Sec. 20.19 by removing paragraph (m).
[FR Doc. 2019-16386 Filed 7-31-19; 8:45 am]
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