The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is continuing its strict enforcement of its hearing aid compatibility (HAC) requirements for manufacturers and service providers of wireless equipment and services, as evidenced by a recent flurry of enforcement actions.
In late May, the Commission issued citations to eight separate resellers of wireless services for failing to file annual hearing aid compatibility status reports as required under the FCC’s 2003 Hearing Aid Compatibility Order. In the same timeframe, the Commission also announced that it had resolved four separate petitions for requests for waiver of obligations under the hearing aid compatibility requirements.
The circumstances prompting each of the citations were unique, but recipients generally claimed that they failed to file the required reports because they either did not know of the requirement, or believed that the requirement did not apply to them. However, in each and every case, the Commission reiterated that its HAC reporting requirements apply to all wireless service providers, including resellers.
Commission Citations carry no financial penalties, but represent a final warning of sorts to their recipients, and violations of FCC regulations subsequent to receipt of a Citation can lead to monetary forfeitures up to $150,000 for each violation, or for each day of a continuing violation.
View the complete text of the FCC’s citation against eCallPlus (one of the eight recipients of citations in May) for violations of requirements for HAC.
