[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28103-28104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10981]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0999; FRS 27884]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collection(s). Comments are 
requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
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; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before July 26, 2021. 
If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments but find it 
difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control No.: 3060-0999.
    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.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 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.
    Privacy 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

[[Page 28104]]

materials submitted to the Commission be withheld from public 
inspection.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit the revised information 
collection to OMB to obtain a full three-year clearance. The changes 
being made to the information collect 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 certifications. No changes are being 
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 are necessitated by a 
Report and Order in WT Docket No. 20-3, FCC 21-28, adopted on February 
16, 2021. In this 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 in order 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. 
Since handset manufacturers and service providers are already required 
to include the technical standard used to determine hearing aid 
compatibility in package inserts or user manuals for hearing aid-
compatible handsets, this change will not substantially impact the 
existing paperwork burden estimates that OMB has already approved for 
this information collection. 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 is also revising 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 the Commission is making will not affect the number of 
respondents or responses, burden hours, or costs presently approved by 
OMB for this information collection. The Commission requests that OMB 
approve the proposed revisions to the currently approved information 
collection in order to implement the changes the Commission adopted in 
the Report and Order. These changes benefit handset manufacturers and 
service providers by reducing regulatory 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. All 
other paperwork burden requirements previously approved by OMB for this 
information collection remain unchanged.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-10981 Filed 5-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P