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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Section  68.4(  a)  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  Governing  Hearing  Aid-  Compatible  Telephones;  Order  on  Reconsideration  and  Further  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking; 
 WT  Docket  No.  01-  309 
 I  am  very  pleased  to  support  today’s  decision  because  it  reaffirms  our  strong  commitment  to  improving  access  to  digital  mobile  wireless  phones  by  those  Americans  who  use  hearing  aids. 


 Over  the  past  couple  of  years,  I  have  talked  a  lot  about  what  the  public  interest  means  to  me  as  an  FCC  commissioner  –  about  how  I  have  been  guided  in  making  decisions  by  one  key  principle:  that  the  public 
 interest  means  securing  access  to  communications  for  everyone,  including  those  the  market  may  leave  behind. 


 Whether  it’s  in  the  field  of  broadcasting,  spectrum-  based  services,  or  competitive  telecommunications  services,  I  have  tried  to  address  this  goal  by  providing  for  access  by  non-  English  speakers,  people  with 
 disabilities,  rural  and  low-  income  consumers,  small  businesses,  and  many  others.  Public  interest  issues,  such  as  protecting  the  rights  of  people  who  use  hearing  aids,  always  should  remain  in  the  forefront  of  our 
 decisions. 
 While  the  Hearing  Aid  Compatibility  (HAC)  Act  of  1988  exempted  mobile  wireless  phones  from  hearing  aid  compatibility,  Congress  specifically  entrusted  this  Commission  with  assessing  the  appropriateness  of 
 continuing  the  exemption.  Soon  after  I  joined  the  Commission,  we  took  that  obligation  to  heart  and  modified  the  exemption  as  it  then  applied  to  digital  mobile  wireless  phones.  Today,  we  rightly  affirm  the 
 large  majority  of  that  decision. 
 However,  we  do  make  one  significant  change  to  our  rules  by  allowing  Tier  I  carriers  the  option  of  making  available  four  digital  wireless  handset  models  per  air  interface  to  satisfy  the  September  16,  2005  initial 
 benchmark.  This  option,  which  is  supported  by  consumer  groups,  will  provide  carriers  with  a  level  of  certainty  that  should  greatly  facilitate  the  management  of  their  supply  chain. 


 It  must  be  highlighted  that  in  advocating  for  this  change,  CTIA  reports  this  increased  certainty  would  enable  Tier  I  members  to  provide  HAC  information  on  “call-  out  cards”  that  are  a  part  of  the  handset 
 display  in  retail  stores.  The  Tier  I  carriers  also  would  agree  to  provide  low-  end  and  high-  end  HAC-complaint  handsets.  I  very  much  support  this  mutually  agreeable  solution.  I  applaud  CTIA’s 
 commitment  and  look  forward  to  the  timely  implementation  of  these  additional  consumer  benefits. 
 I  am  also  encouraged  by  the  progress  in  hearing  aid  compatibility  that’s  been  made  since  our  earlier  decision.  The  American  National  Standards  Institute  (ANSI)  committee  working  on  this  issue  recently 
 adopted  and  released  a  draft  version  of  an  updated  hearing  aid  compatibility  standard.  And  we  are  hearing  good  reports  about  the  level  of  cooperation  between  service  providers,  handset  manufacturers, 
 and  representatives  of  the  hard  of  hearing  community  in  working  towards  upcoming  compliance  deadlines. 


 Finally,  we  pose  important  questions  about  two  aspects  of  our  rules  relating  to  expanding  our  in-  store  testing  requirements  to  more  outlets  and  the  scope  of  our  de  minimis  exception.  These  issues  came  up 
 during  the  reconsideration  discussion,  and  I  am  glad  that  we  have  teed  them  up  for  further  comment.  We  want  to  make  sure  we  have  a  full  record  before  considering  whether  or  not  to  further  address  these  issues. 
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