[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 [www.gpo.gov]
[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

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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: [email protected].

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