[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 114 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33324-33326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13219]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 20
[WT Docket No. 07-250; FCC 08-68]
Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, Petition of American
National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee C63 (EMC)
ANSI ASC C63TM
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) invites
additional submissions regarding the treatment under its hearing aid
compatibility rules of multi-mode and multi-band handsets and regarding
the application of the de minimis exception to those rules.
DATES: The Commission requests comments on or before August 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit ex parte submissions, identified by WT Docket
No. 07-250, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission's Web Site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected], and include the following words in
the body of the message, ``get form.'' A sample form and directions
will be sent in response.
Mail: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20554.
Hand Delivery/Courier: 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE.,
Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002.
[[Page 33325]]
Accessible Formats: Contact the FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) for filing comments either by e-mail:
[email protected] or phone: 202-418-0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. All submissions received will be
posted without change to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs including any
personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Trachtenberg, Spectrum &
Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Portals I,
Room 6119, Washington, DC 20554.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of open issues in the
Commission's First Report & Order (R&O) in WT Docket No. 07-250
released February 28, 2008. The complete text of the Commission's R&O
is available for public inspection and copying from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. Monday through Thursday or from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Friday at
the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. [The R&O may also be purchased from
the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC
20554, telephone 202-488-5300, facsimile 202-488-5563, or you may
contact BCPI at its Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering
documents from BCPI please provide the appropriate FCC document number,
FCC 08-68. The R&O is also available on the Internet at the
Commission's Web site through its Electronic Document Management System
(EDOCS): http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/SilverStream/Pages/edocs.html.]
This is a summary of the two new issues raised in the R&O that the
public can comment on through the ex parte process in WT Docket No. 07-
250:
Multi-mode and multi-band handsets. In the R&O, the Commission
clarifies that, to be counted as hearing aid-compatible, a handset
model must meet compatibility standards for each air interface and
frequency band it uses so long as standards exist for each of those
bands and air interfaces. Except for an interim ruling with respect to
handsets that incorporate Wi-Fi capabilities, the Commission does not
resolve whether, or to what extent, multi-band and multi-mode handsets
should be counted as hearing aid-compatible if they operate in part
over frequency bands or air interfaces for which technical standards
have not yet been established. The record contains arguments both in
favor of and against treating such handsets as hearing aid-compatible.
Moreover, according to industry representatives, no such handsets
currently exist, with the exception of devices incorporating Wi-Fi
capability. The Commission accepts the proposal endorsed by both
industry and consumer representatives to leave the record open so that
they may develop a consensus plan on this issue in the near term. The
Commission looks forward to receiving from the parties to the consensus
discussions general principles within three months of the release of
the R&O and a detailed proposal within six months, and the Commission
also invites the views of other parties. The Commission anticipates
acting on a final order shortly after receiving the detailed consensus
proposal. The Commission's decision to take additional time to resolve
this issue turns in part on the current unavailability of such
handsets. The Commission therefore expects handset manufacturers to
keep it informed regarding the status of developments of such handsets,
and asks the parties to the consensus discussions to include that
information as part of their filings in three and six months. If such
handsets are made available in the interim, the Commission will act
expeditiously to address the hearing aid compatibility status of those
handsets.
When the Commission subsequently addresses the application of
hearing aid compatibility requirements to Wi-Fi operations, it will
consider an appropriate transition regime to bring any requirements
into effect. In view of the fact that Wi-Fi-capable handsets are
currently available, the Commission invites comments on whether a
period of time should be given before any requirements to meet hearing
aid compatibility standards for handsets that incorporate Wi-Fi
capability become effective, and if so what that time period should be.
It has been argued by some commenters that due to the lower power of
the Wi-Fi operations, these operations are unlikely to cause
interference to hearing aids. However, there has been no specific
showing towards this. The Commission invites comments in this area in
order to help it consider the application of hearing aid compatibility
requirements to Wi-Fi operations and consider a transition regime to
bring such requirements into effect.
De minimis rule. Section 20.19 provides a de minimis exception to
hearing aid compatibility obligations for those manufacturers and
mobile service providers that only offer a small number of handset
models. In the R&O, the Commission retains the existing de minimis rule
and clarifies that it applies on a per-air interface basis rather than
across a manufacturer's or service provider's entire product line.
Two commenters proposed that the exception be modified so that it
does not apply on a permanent basis to large businesses that produce
only one or two handsets with mass appeal, such as Apple's iPhone. The
Commission does not adopt this limitation at this time, but leaves the
record open for further comments. The Commission recognizes the concern
of Hearing Loss Association of America and Telecommunications for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (HLAA/TDI) and Gallaudet University
Technology Access program and Rehabilitation Engineering Research
Center on Telecommunications Access (Gallaudet/RERC) that if a
manufacturer produces only one or two models of a popular handset that
is not hearing aid-compatible, consumers with hearing loss may be
denied access to attractive features of that handset indefinitely. At
the same time, as the Commission has stated previously, the exception
was not adopted solely for the benefit of small businesses, but for
businesses of any size that sell only a small number of digital
wireless handsets in the United States. The primary concern of the
Commission is that the rule not be limited in a manner that would
compromise its effectiveness in promoting innovation and competition.
The Commission also takes note of the fact that large manufacturers
with highly successful initial devices may not continue indefinitely to
produce only two or fewer handset models, but instead may expand their
product offerings in response to consumer demand for new and different
features, thereby bringing themselves under the hearing aid
compatibility rules and benefiting consumers both with and without
hearing loss. It is also unclear exactly how the changes proposed by
Gallaudet/RERC and HLAA/TDI would operate in practice. The Commission
invites comments on how ``large business,'' ``handsome profits,'' or
``mass appeal'' would be defined. To the extent the rule's application
would depend on the volume and profitability of sales during the first
year, the Commission asks whether manufacturers have sufficient ability
to anticipate the obligations to which they
[[Page 33326]]
would be subject and plan accordingly. The commenting parties to these
questions are requested to address the details and effects of any
limitation on the de minimis exception that they may propose, and the
need for the limitation to protect consumers' access to phones with
advanced or desirable technologies and features.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-13219 Filed 6-11-08; 8:45 am]
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