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 Separate  Statement  of  Commissioner  Michael  J.  Copps 
 Re:  Section  68.4  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  Governing  Hearing  Aid-  Compatible  Telephones,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  (July  10,  2003). 


 We  all  often  talk  about  the  power  of  technology  to  make  American’s  lives  better.  We  talk  about  the  transformative  potential  of  innovation  and  communications  advances.  We  all 
 recognize  that  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Commission  to  work  to  make  technology  available  to  all  Americans. 


 This  duty  comes  into  sharp  focus  in  Orders  like  this.  The  first  speech  I  gave  as  a  FCC  Commissioner  was  in  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  at  the  14  th  International  Conference  of 
 Telecommunications  for  the  Deaf.  This  is  where  our  responsibilities  in  this  area  became  clear  to  me.  I,  along  with  my  colleagues,  recognize  the  unique  challenges  faced  by  hard-  of-  hearing 
 Americans  and  the  unique  possibilities  presented  by  communications  technologies  to  this  community. 


 Congress  also  recognizes  these  challenges  and  opportunities,  and  has  told  us  that  we  must  make  communications  technologies  accessible  by  people  with  disabilities.  So  my  goal  as  a  FCC 
 Commissioner  is  to  follow  the  directive  of  Congress  and  to  help  bring  the  best,  most  accessible  and  cost-  effective  telecommunications  system  in  the  world  to  our  people  –  and  I  mean  all  of  our 
 people.  Than  means  that  each  and  every  American  should  have  access  to  the  wonders  of  wireless  telecommunications. 


 Today  we  take  an  important  step  toward  that  goal.  We  adopt  the  ANSI  performance  standard  and  phase  in  a  requirement  that  mobile  phones  meet  this  standard.  In  two  years  25 
 percent  of  all  Tier  One  carriers’  phones  must  comply.  On  the  day  that  the  analog  standard  disappears  a  little  under  five  years  from  now,  hard-  of-  hearing  Americans  will  find  that  50 
 percent  of  all  wireless  phones  are  compatible  with  their  hearing  aids.  And  we  don’t  stop  there.  Three  years  from  now,  when  we  have  more  information  on  how  implementation  is  progressing, 
 we  commit  to  begin  a  proceeding  to  explore  setting  additional  benchmarks  above  50  percent.  Importantly,  we  state  that  our  goal  is  100  percent  compliance.  We  have  a  long  way  to  go.  But 
 this  is  a  good  start. 
 With  this  action  our  Commission  adds  to  a  list  of  actions  the  past  Commission  took  to  promote  accessibility.  The  previous  Commission  wrote  new  rules  to  ensure  that  communications 
 products  and  services  are  accessible  to  those  with  disabilities,  as  Congress  directed,  in  Section  255;  overhauled  and  updated  our  Telecommunications  Relay  Services  (TRS)  rules  to  provide  for 
 faster,  more  effective  relay  services;  established  711  for  relay  services  so  that  consumers  will  no  longer  need  to  remember  different  TRS  numbers  and  TRS  users  will  be  able  to  put  one  number 
 on  their  business  cards,  thereby  making  it  easier  for  people  to  call  them;  and  took  action  on  captioning  to  ensure  that  everyone  has  access  to  televised  information,  including,  most 
 importantly,  warnings  about  emergency  situations.  This  Commission  has  maintained  and  in  some  instances  built  upon  these  actions,  and  I’m  happy  to  say  that  we  continue  this  trend  today. 
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 Furthermore,  I  want  to  recognize  the  dedication  of  the  wireless  industry  to  serving  people  with  disabilities.  Over  my  tenure  here  I’ve  seen  a  new  and  vigorous  commitment  by 
 manufacturers  and  carriers.  These  manufacturers  and  the  carriers  are  the  ones  who  will  make  this  Order  work,  and  their  recent  performance  has  been  commendable. 


 I  also  want  to  congratulate  the  wide  range  of  organizations  that  represent  people  with  hearing  loss.  They  have  been  pushing  the  Commission  to  take  action  for  years  and  years  on  this 
 proceeding.  They  represent  their  community  ably  and  professionally.  And  I  want  to  stress  again  the  importance  of  this  Commission  always  making  special  efforts  to  reach  out  to  our  disabilities 
 communities  whose  resources  are  stretched  thin  but  who  are  so  profoundly  affected  by  so  many  of  the  proceedings  before  the  FCC. 


 Finally,  I  want  to  thank  my  colleagues  and  the  staff  for  their  hard  work  on  this  item.  They  were  flexible  and  open  to  compromise.  I  appreciate  that  and  think  that  in  the  end  the 
 process  of  working  together  led  to  a  far  better  Order. 
 Thank  you. 
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