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                                                                     DA 13-16

                                                              January 7, 2013

                                             Enforcement Advisory No. 2013-01

               HEARING aID COMPATIBILITY FOR WIRELESS TELEPHONES

    WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS ADVISED TO REVIEW COMPLIANCE WITH HEARING AID
               COMPATIBILITY RULES AND ENSURE ACCURATE REPORTING

      Annual Compliance Filing for Service Providers Due January 15, 2013

   The Enforcement Bureau reminds wireless service providers, including
   resellers, of their obligation to report on compliance with the hearing
   aid compatibility rules on or before January 15, 2013. The hearing aid
   compatibility rules ensure that individuals with hearing loss can fully
   access advanced wireless phone services without excessive feedback or
   noise.

   As part of the Commission's longstanding commitment to ensuring that
   people who use hearing aids and cochlear implants have continuing access
   to advanced technologies as they develop, the Bureau will continue to take
   action against companies that violate the hearing aid compatibility rules.
   Last year, the Enforcement Bureau proposed nearly $1.4 million in monetary
   penalties for violations of the hearing aid-compatible handset deployment
   requirements and negotiated consent decrees with voluntary contributions
   totaling more than $725,000. As we have previously noted, the Bureau's
   heightened enforcement posture recognizes that the hearing aid
   compatibility rules have been in place (in one form or another) for almost
   a decade and that service providers should now have implemented robust
   programs to ensure compliance with these important rules.

   What do the hearing aid compatibility rules require? FCC rules require
   most wireless service providers to offer a minimum number of hearing
   aid-compatible handsets, making their products accessible to consumers
   with hearing loss. To ensure that consumers have access to up-to-date
   information on the availability of those handsets and that the Commission
   can monitor compliance, FCC rules also require service providers to make
   periodic status reports and to post specific information on their public
   websites. The status reports and web content provide valuable information
   to the public concerning the technical testing and commercial availability
   of hearing aid-compatible handsets.

   We again remind service providers (i) that a company's failure to
   familiarize itself with the relevant law does not excuse noncompliance;
   and (ii) that there is no de minimis exception to the wireless hearing aid
   compatibility reporting requirement.

   How important is accurate reporting? Inaccurate reports hamper the
   Commission's ability to monitor the deployment of hearing aid-compatible
   handsets and impede compliance with the hearing aid compatibility rules
   themselves. Service providers (and manufacturers) are obligated to
   accurately report their handset offerings in their annual hearing aid
   compatibility status reports.

   We note that in some instances service providers have mistakenly reported
   only those hearing aid-compatible handsets that were "sold" to consumers
   during the reporting period instead of all compatible handsets "offered,"
   as contemplated by the rules. The Bureau also has found inaccuracies in
   the relevant hearing aid compatibility handset rating, model name, and FCC
   ID, as well as the time period during which such handsets were offered.
   Errors in manufacturer or service provider reports may then be replicated
   by other entities, creating a daisy chain of non-compliance. The FCC's
   Equipment Authorization System is the most reliable source for information
   on a handset's hearing aid compatibility rating, and the Enforcement
   Bureau urges all filers to review their hearing aid compatibility service
   reports carefully before submission to ensure their accuracy. Service
   providers that have already filed their hearing aid compatibility status
   report for 2013 should review their filings for accuracy and completeness
   and timely amend their filings as necessary to correct any errors. We will
   consider taking additional enforcement actions in this area if this
   problem persists.

   What happens if manufacturers or service providers do not comply with the
   rules? Manufacturers and service providers should promptly review their
   compliance with the hearing aid compatibility rules, as we intend to
   strictly enforce them.

     * Failure to comply with the digital wireless handset deployment
       requirements may result in monetary forfeitures starting at $15,000
       per violation. In 2012, the Commission revised its approach to the
       assessment of base forfeitures for violations of the hearing
       aid-compatible handset deployment requirements in order to more fully
       reflect the significance of these violations and to better deter
       future noncompliance. Specifically, the Commission began applying the
       $15,000 base forfeiture to each failure to offer a hearing
       aid-compatible handset during each month of the reporting year.

     * Failure to comply with the reporting and web site posting requirements
       may result in monetary forfeitures starting at $6,000 per violation.

   In addition, these base forfeiture amounts are subject to adjustment based
   on aggravating or mitigating factors. The Communications Act and
   Commission rules authorize forfeitures against a common carrier of up to
   $150,000 for each violation, or for each day of a continuing violation, up
   to a maximum of $1,500,000 for a single act or failure to act.

   Need more information? To file a hearing aid compatibility status report,
   visit http://wireless.fcc.gov/hac. For additional information regarding
   compliance with and enforcement of the wireless hearing aid compatibility
   rules, please contact John D. Poutasse, (202) 418-2172,
   John.Poutasse@FCC.gov, or Pamera Hairston, (202) 418-1165,
   Pamera.Hairston@fcc.gov of the Enforcement Bureau. For general information
   on the wireless hearing aid compatibility rules, contact Michael Rowan,
   (202) 418-1883, Michael.Rowan@fcc.gov, or Eli Johnson, (202) 418-1395,
   Eli.Johnson@fcc.gov of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

   To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities
   (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to
   fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at
   202-418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). You may also contact the
   Enforcement Bureau on its TTY line at (202) 418-1148 for further
   information about this Enforcement Advisory, or the FCC on its TTY line at
   1-888-Tell-FCC (1-888-835-5322) for further information about the wireless
   hearing aid compatibility rules.

   Media inquiries should be directed to Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253, Mark
   Wigfield@fcc.gov.

                                         Issued by: Chief, Enforcement Bureau

                                     -FCC-

   The filing deadline for these reports is January 15th each year. When the
   15th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the report is due on the
   next business day. See Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Reporting at
   http://wireless.fcc.gov/hac.

   The full text of the wireless hearing aid compatibility rules is set forth
   at 47 C.F.R. S: 20.19. Among other things, these rules include technical
   standards that digital wireless handsets must meet to be considered
   compatible with hearing aids operating in acoustic coupling and inductive
   coupling (telecoil) modes, and establish deadlines by which wireless
   service providers, including resellers and Mobile Virtual Network
   Operators, are required to offer specified numbers or percentages of
   handsets per air interface that comply with the relevant standard.

   Service providers offering two or fewer digital wireless handset models
   per air interface may qualify for the de minimis exception (47 C.F.R. S:
   20.19(e)). Although these entities are exempt from most of the hearing aid
   compatibility deployment requirements in 47 C.F.R. S: 20.19, they must
   still comply with the reporting requirement in 47 C.F.R. S: 20.19(i).
   Effective September 10, 2012, the de minimis exception is unavailable to
   service providers that do not meet the definition of a "small entity"
   beginning two years after their initial offerings. See id S:
   20.19(e)(1)(ii); see also Amendment of the Commission's Rules Governing
   Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, Policy Statement and Second Report
   and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 25 FCC Rcd 11167,
   11180-89, paras. 35-59 (2010).

   See 47 C.F.R. S: 20.19(i).

   See id. S: 20.19(i)(3)(i) ("Reports filed by service providers must
   include: (i) [c]ompliant handset models offered to customers since the
   most recent report . . . .").

   The Equipment Authorization System is an electronic database of all
   equipment certified under FCC authority. The database identifies the
   hearing aid compatibility rating of each handset by FCC ID, as reported by
   the handset manufacturer in test reports submitted to the Commission at
   the time of an equipment authorization or of any modification to such
   authorization. See http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/.

   See T-Mobile USA, Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 27
   FCC Rcd 4405, 4415, paras. 22-23 (2012).

   See 47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(B); 47 C.F.R. S: 1.80(b)(3).

                                  Page 1 of 3

   PUBLIC NOTICE

                                   Page 1of 3

                            FCC ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY

                                  QUICK GUIDE

     * Wireless service providers must file required Hearing Aid
       Compatibility Status Reports by January 15, 2013.

     * The Bureau has observed that hearing aid compatibility status reports
       filed by service providers (and manufacturers) often contain numerous
       errors. Given the upcoming reporting deadline, we urge service
       providers to exercise due diligence in making the representations
       required by the hearing aid compatibility rules. The failure to do so
       undermines the ability of consumers to access reliable information on
       the availability of hearing aid-compatible handsets and confuses other
       market participants.

     * We emphasize (i) that a company's failure to familiarize itself with
       the relevant law does not excuse noncompliance; and (ii) that there is
       no de minimis exception to the wireless hearing aid compatibility
       reporting requirement.

     * Service providers that have already filed their hearing aid
       compatibility status reports for 2013 should review such filings for
       accuracy and completeness and timely amend their filings as necessary
       to correct any errors.

   Federal Communications Commission

   445 12th St., S.W.

   Washington, D.C. 20554

                                        News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

                                                 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

                                                          TTY: 1-888-835-5322