FCC Charts Course to Comprehensive Hearing Aid Compatibility for Consumers with Hearing Loss

The Federal Communications Commission took several steps to implement new rules to ensure that people with hearing loss have full access to innovative wireless devices. The action taken has several parts, all of which will modernize existing hearing aid compatibility rules while maintaining the balance between fostering accessibility and promoting innovation and investment. With this Report and Order, the Commission amends the hearing aid compatibility requirements that are generally applicable to wireless service providers and manufacturers of digital wireless handsets.

Specifically, the Commission increases the number of hearing aid compatible handsets that service providers and manufacturers are required to offer by setting two new percentage benchmarks:
66 percent of offered handset models must be compliant following a two-year transition
period for manufacturers, with additional compliance time for service providers, and
85 percent of offered handset models must be compliant following a five-year transition
period for manufacturers, with additional compliance time for service providers.

The new rules establish a more limited obligation for entities offering only four or five handsets.