Industry, Consumer Groups Press FCC to Adopt Consensus Hearing Aid Plan
Wireless associations and groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing met last week with all five FCC commissioners to press the agency to adopt the consensus plan on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) both sides had agreed to last year…
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and presented to the FCC (see 1511130027). The agreement would establish a path to achieving 100 percent HAC-handsets within eight years, if technically feasible. Chairman Tom Wheeler said in an earlier blog post the FCC will “enshrine” the consensus plan when revised HAC rules get a vote at Thursday’s meeting (see 1607150024). “During the meetings, the Parties reaffirmed their support for adoption of the historic Consensus Proposal that they presented to the Commission, which balances the goal of hearing aid compatibility for all wireless handsets with the need to encourage continued innovations that can benefit all consumers, including those who use hearing aid devices,” said a filing by the industry and consumer groups, in docket 15-285. The Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at Gallaudet University, the Hearing Loss Association of America and the Telecommunications Industry Association participated in the meetings at the FCC. “Specifically, the Parties continued to support the enhanced benchmarks and encouraged the Commission to adopt them as described in the Consensus Proposal, including (but not limited to) the timeline and the additional compliance periods specified for Tier I and non-Tier I service providers,” the filing said.