E9-10036. Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for Review to the Office of Management and Budget

April 28, 2009.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be submitted on or before June 1, 2009. If you anticipate that you will be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of Management and Budget, via fax at 202-395-5167 or the Internet at [e-mail] and to [e-mail], Federal Communications Commission, or an e-mail to [e-mail]. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain,, (2) look for the section of the Web page called “Currently Under Review”, (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the “Select Agency” box below the “Currently Under Review” heading, (4) select “Federal Communications Commission” from the list of agencies presented in the “Select Agency” box, (5) click the “Submit” button to the right of the “Select Agency” box, and (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the title of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then click on the ICR Reference Number to view detailed information about this ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information or copies of the information collection(s), contact Judith B. Herman at 202-418-0214 or via the Internet at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0999.

Title: Hearing Aid Compatibility Status Report and section 20.19, Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets (Hearing Aid-Compatibility Act).

Form No.: FCC Form 655—electronic only.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 925 respondents; 925 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-2.5 hours.

Frequency of Response: Annual and on occasion reporting requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157, 201, 202, 208, 214, 301, 303, 308, 309(j) and 310.

Total Annual Burden: 12,063 hours.

Total Annual Cost: N/A.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Information in the reports may include confidential information. However, covered entities would be allowed to request that such materials submitted to the Commission be withheld from public inspection under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this information collection (IC) to the OMB as a revision during this comment period to obtain the full three-year clearance from them. There is a slight change in the number of respondents/responses. In 2008, we reported 950 respondents/responses. Therefore, the Commission has recalculated the estimates and the annual burden hours have decreased by 537 hours.

In the First Report and Order in WT Docket No. 07-250, FCC 08-68, which updated several of the performance benchmarks for manufacturers and service providers, and instituted new requirements for manufacturers to refresh their product lines and for service providers to offer hearing aid-compatible handset models with differing levels of functionality. The Commission also adopted a new version of the technical standard for measuring hearing aid compatibility, and addressed the application of the rules to phones that operate in multiple frequency bands or air interfaces. In order to avoid potential consumer confusion over technical capabilities, the Order also modified the product labeling requirements slightly.

The Commission is also revising this information collection to implement mandatory electronic filing using the newly created FCC Form 655. Many of these data elements have already been approved by OMB, however, the Commission decided to create this new electronic form to eliminate the paper-based annual reports and will require annual reports filed by manufacturers and service providers beginning on July 15, 2009. Use of the electronic FCC Form 655 will help filers ensure that their reports include all of the required information, will facilitate the Commission's compilation of data from the reports, and will decrease the paperwork burden on all respondents.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary.