[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]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P