“This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement”

The FCC has announced a tentative agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for 10:30 am on Thursday, January 30, 2020.  The meeting will be held in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC, is open to the public, and will be streamed live on the Internet with open captioning at https://www.fcc.gov/general/live.    

At this meeting, the Commission will consider:

  1. A draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would propose a new technical standard for determining whether a wireless handset is hearing aid-compatible (HAC) and to simplify and update the Commission’s HAC rules; and
  2. A draft Report and Order that would adopt regulations on the handling of Video Relay Service (VRS) calls by communications assistants (CAs) working from their homes.

1.  What the HAC NPRM would do:

  • Propose to require exclusive use of the 2019 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard for evaluating hearing aid compatibility after a two-year transition period and extend the Commission’s current volume control deadline to coincide with the start of exclusive use of the 2019 standard.
  • Propose to update the Commission’s HAC labeling requirements so consumers have the information they need to understand and evaluate the HAC of a handset.

2,  What the VRS Report and Order would do:

  • Amend the Commission’s rules to permit authorized VRS providers to let CAs handle calls at home workstations, subject to safeguards designed to maintain service quality, protect call confidentiality, and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

January 30 Meeting News Release:

URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-january-open-meeting-7
Word: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361784A1.docx
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361784A1.pdf
Text: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361784A1.txt

Public Draft of the HAC NPRM
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361786A1.pdf   

Public Draft of the VRS Report and Order:
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-361787A1.pdf

More information about the January 30 meeting:  https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2020/01/january-2020-open-commission-meeting

Reasonable Accommodations:  Open captioning and on-site sign language interpreting services will be provided for this event.  Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request, such as tactile interpreting services.  Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e‐mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or (202) 418-0432 (TTY).  Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed.  In addition, please include a way the FCC can contact you if we need more information.  Please allow as much advance notice as possible; last‐minute requests will be accepted but may be impossible to fill.

For information about the HAC NPRM, please contact Eli Johnson, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-1395, email Eli.Johnson@fcc.gov.  For general information about HAC, visit:  https://www.fcc.gov/hearing-aid-compatibility-and-volume-control

For more information about the VRS Report and Order, please contact Michael Scott, Attorney Advisor, Disability Rights Office, CGB, at (202) 418-1264 or Michael.Scott@fcc.gov.  For general information about VRS, visit:  https://www.fcc.gov/general/telecommunications-relay-services-trs

Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).  TTY users may call the FCC’s TTY number at (888) 835-5322.

Updated:
Thursday, January 21, 2021