Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

January 7, 2013—The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau released an Enforcement Advisory to remind all wireless service providers to review and report on compliance with the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) rules. HAC rules require that wireless service providers offer a minimum number of hearing aid-compatible handsets and provide information about such handsets in periodic reports and on their websites.

December 12, 2012 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [FCC 12-149] that proposed rules requiring all wireless carriers and providers of Internet-based text messaging applications to enable customers to send text messages to 911 centers (text-to-911).

December 10, 2012 — Julius Genachowski, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, recently announced the creation of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force that will work to answer the following policy question: “In a broadband world, how can we best ensure that our nation’s communications policies continue to drive a virtuous cycle of innovation and investment, promote competition, and protect consumers?” Areas that the Task Force will focus on include: IP interconnection, 21st century communications networks, business broadband competition, and voice services.

December 6, 2012—The four largest wireless carriers in the U.S.—AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile—have made the commitment to accelerate the deployment of text-to-911 services, starting with major deployments in 2013 and nationwide access available by May 15, 2014. The announcement was made by Julius Genachowski, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, who also stated the FCC’s promise to work with all stakeholders and initiate any additional actions to ensure the accessibility of text-to-911 messaging is reached as soon as possible.

November 21, 2012 - The next open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 1:00pm EST. Agenda items include: a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to broadband services; a Report and Order related to increasing support for rural health care services; and a Report, Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to Next Generation 911 (NG 9-1-1) services that would develop and deploy Text-to-911.