Revise, Don't Kill HAC Reporting Rules, Consumer Groups Urge

Consumer groups don't oppose streamlining FCC reporting requirements for hearing aid-compatible (HAC) mobile handsets but oppose eliminating them, said Hearing Loss Association of America and others in reply comments this week in docket 17-228. Don’t “throw out the baby with the bathwater,” they said. “Even if Form 655 is burdensome to file, as industry contends, there is no reason to abandon the procedure that the ATIS HAC Incubator worked hard to develop, that all parties agreed to, and the Commission adopted.” CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association urged the FCC to eliminate 655 reporting requirements for all service providers. The wireless groups said consumers have resources to find the right device and understand the HAC-rating system, “making the Commission’s reporting requirement unnecessary for either educational or compliance purposes.”