AI companies lick their chops as FCC proposes forcing call center onshoring

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken steps that could fundamentally change the customer service landscape in the telecommunications sector. On Thursday, March 26, 2026, the Commission voted unanimously to proceed with the development of regulations forcing communication service providers to move call center operations back to the USA. While the government's intentions seem clear—data protection and improved service quality—the tech industry sees this move as a powerful catalyst for another, much more controversial change: mass automation based on AI.

The FCC proposal involves introducing rigid percentage limits on the number of calls that can be handled by foreign call centers. "We believe such a cap would encourage the relocation of call center operations back to the USA," reads the draft notice of proposed rulemaking. For companies such as internet service providers (ISPs), mobile operators, or cable networks, this means having to choose between costly hiring of American workers and investing in advanced language models and voice systems.

American standards versus global savings

The main motive behind the FCC's actions is not only the desire to fight unemployment but, above all, the dramatically low level of customer satisfaction. The telecommunications industry regularly ranks last in service quality rankings. The new regulations aim to enforce higher standards through several key mechanisms. First, companies would be required to inform the caller if the agent is located outside the USA. Second, the customer would have to be able to request an immediate transfer to a domestic consultant.

Additionally, the FCC plans to restrict transactions involving sensitive customer data exclusively to agents working within the United States. This is intended to increase security and privacy, which have been repeatedly violated in foreign outsourcing centers in recent years. The project also envisions fighting phone spam through a system of fees and deposits, which is intended to prevent legitimate call centers from moonlighting as tools for scammers. In the event that some operations remain abroad, the Commission wants to tighten requirements regarding English language proficiency among agents.

AI as an escape from rising labor costs

The question analysts are asking today is: will corporations actually choose to pay American rates for positions that have previously been low-paid? Rick Ruth, director of carrier relations and regulatory affairs at CTM, a call center automation company, points to a different scenario. In his view, organizations may expand the use of AI-based classification, routing, and automation instead of absorbing the costs of a fully domestic workforce.

• AI-driven triage: Artificial intelligence models will take over initial interactions, diagnose the problem, and collect data.
• Hybrid service: Humans (working in the USA) will be reserved exclusively for complex or critical problems that the machine is unable to solve.
• Cost optimization: A single agent supported by AI can replace several employees, allowing companies to meet FCC limits without drastically increasing payroll budgets.

For AI technology providers, the FCC proposal is "wind in their sails." These companies are counting on a surge in demand for systems that will allow them to bypass the need to build massive, costly staffing structures in the United States. If the law forces companies to abandon cheap outsourcing, then AI will become the most logical economic alternative.

Technological barriers and implementation risks

Despite the optimism of AI providers, reality does not always keep up with marketing promises. Previous attempts at full call center automation have often failed—it is estimated that about half of the companies that tried to implement bots as the sole line of contact eventually abandoned the idea. Even in scenarios where AI acts as an assistant to a human agent, results can be poor. Employees often report that digital assistants are unhelpful or even hinder work by generating incorrect suggestions.

"We must strike a balance between achieving our goals and not imposing excessive costs on these companies," the FCC itself admits in the draft proposal.

A key factor will be time. The legislative process at the FCC—from the public comment period to the drafting of final rules—is lengthy. By the time the regulations take effect, AI technology may be at a completely different level of advancement. Today's problems with model hallucinations or lack of empathy in voice may be resolved, making the vision of an "unmanned" customer service office more real than ever.

From an industry perspective, the FCC move may paradoxically accelerate the death of the traditional telephone consultant profession. Instead of thousands of jobs returning to the USA, we may witness the birth of a new era where American call centers are not halls full of people, but server rooms handling processes in real-time. My prediction is clear: regulations aimed at "onshoring" labor will become the ultimate impulse for its full automation. Telecommunications companies will choose algorithms over American salaries, and the FCC will unintentionally open the door to the widest adoption of AI in public services in history.