HEARING AID COMPATIBILITY.

SEC. 102. HEARING AID COMPATIBILITY.(a) Compatibility Requirements.—(1) Telephone service for the disabled.—Section 710(b)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:“(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) and subsection (c), the Commission shall require that customer premises equipment described in this paragraph provide internal means for effective use with hearing aids that are designed to be compatible with telephones which meet established technical standards for hearing aid compatibility. Customer premises equipment described in this paragraph are the following:“(A) All essential telephones.“(B) All telephones manufactured in the United States (other than for export) more than one year after the date of enactment of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 or imported for use in the United States more than one year after such date.“(C) All customer premises equipment used with advanced communications services that is designed to provide 2-way voice communication via a built-in speaker intended to be held to the ear in a manner functionally equivalent to a telephone, subject to the regulations prescribed by the Commission under subsection (e).”.(2) Additional amendments.—Section 710(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(b)) is further amended—(A) in paragraph (2)—(i) in subparagraph (A)—(I) in the matter preceding clause (i)—(aa) by striking “initial”;(bb) by striking “of this subsection after the date of enactment of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988”; and(cc) by striking “paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection” and inserting “subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1)”;(II) by inserting “and” at the end of clause (ii);(III) by striking clause (iii); and(IV) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (iii);(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); and(iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated)—(I) by striking the first sentence and inserting “The Commission shall periodically assess the appropriateness of continuing in effect the exemptions for telephones and other customer premises 124 STAT. 2754 equipment described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.”; and(II) in each of clauses (iii) and (iv), by striking “paragraph (1)(B)” and inserting “subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1)”;(B) in paragraph (4)(B)—(i) by striking “public mobile” and inserting “telephones used with public mobile”;(ii) by inserting “telephones and other customer premises equipment used in whole or in part with” after “means”;(iii) by striking “and” after “public land mobile telephone service,” and inserting “or”;(iv) by striking “part 22 of”; and(v) by inserting after “Regulations” the following: “, or any functionally equivalent unlicensed wireless services”; and(C) in paragraph (4)(C)—(i) by striking “term ‘private radio services’ ” and inserting “term ‘telephones used with private radio services’ ”; and(ii) by inserting “telephones and other customer premises equipment used in whole or in part with” after “means”.(b) Technical Standards.—Section 710(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “A telephone or other customer premises equipment that is compliant with relevant technical standards developed through a public participation process and in consultation with interested consumer stakeholders (designated by the Commission for the purposes of this section) will be considered hearing aid compatible for purposes of this section, until such time as the Commission may determine otherwise. The Commission shall consult with the public, including people with hearing loss, in establishing or approving such technical standards. The Commission may delegate this authority to an employee pursuant to section 5(c). The Commission shall remain the final arbiter as to whether the standards meet the requirements of this section.”.(c) Rulemaking.—Section 710(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(e)) is amended—(1) by striking “impairments” and inserting “loss”; and(2) by adding at the end the following sentence: “In implementing the provisions of subsection (b)(1)(C), the Commission shall use appropriate timetables or benchmarks to the extent necessary (1) due to technical feasibility, or (2) to ensure the marketability or availability of new technologies to users.”.(d) Rule of Construction.—Section 710(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(h)) is amended to read as follows:“(h) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 shall be construed to modify the Commission’s regulations set forth in section 20.19 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of such Act.”.124 STAT. 2755