The increased reliance by U.S. businesses on foreign call center operations has been a growing trend over the past several decades. Invariably, American consumers making routine customer service calls are routed to a representative in a foreign call center that serves multiple business customers. Confronting an increase in complaints about foreign call centers from consumers about poor customer service due to language and cultural differences, a lack of data security due to differing legal frameworks in foreign countries, and a substantial loss of American jobs to foreign countries, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is considering sweeping new rules to limit the use of foreign call centers and to require onshoring of call centers to the United States. The proposed rules would apply, at a minimum, to all providers of telecommunications services, commercial mobile radio services (CMRS), interconnected voice over internet protocol (VoIP), cable television, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services, as well as their affiliates that provide internet access service. However, the FCC also seeks comment on extending some or all of these rules more broadly, including to all calls covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which would subject a broad range of commercial entities to new FCC requirements governing their call center operations. Companies that use or rely on foreign call centers for customer service, sales or telemarketing, and call center providers, should evaluate these proposals and consider participating in the comment process.
The FCC explains that U.S. consumers often “experience frustration and poor customer service” when connecting with a call center operation located abroad due to language, communication, cultural or other barriers that make it difficult to obtain satisfactory resolutions to customer service problems.[1] The FCC also is concerned that bad actors have used their positions in foreign call centers to unlawfully access customer data, engage in criminal activity, to run scams targeting U.S. consumers, or to engage in illegal robocalls to U.S. citizens. Finally, the FCC is concerned about the significant transfer of American jobs overseas over the past decade.[2]
Key Reforms Proposed
To address these ills, the FCC has adopted a rulemaking seeking comment on a series of aggressive measures to encourage and facilitate the “onshoring” of call centers from overseas. The measures include the following:
- Limiting the percentage of calls that can be connected to overseas call centers;
- Requiring disclosure to consumers of the extent of a provider’s use of U.S. call centers;
- Requiring “covered providers” to disclose when a particular call is being routed to a foreign call center; and
- Enabling consumers to transfer a call to a U.S.-based customer service representative at the consumer’s discretion.
Imposing a Cap on Foreign-Handled Calls
The NPRM proposes an illustrative cap of a 30% limit on the total volume of customer service calls handled by foreign call centers. The NPRM asks how such a metric should be applied, and whether it should be applied equally to inbound calls and outbound calls made from a call center, or to a flat percentage of combined inbound and outbound calls. It also asks over what time period should compliance be measured, whether annually, quarterly, monthly or daily. It further asks what classes of calls should be covered, whether calls for existing customers or who have purchased services from the provider, or all calls to and from a provider relating to customer service, sales, customer billing, or account management. The NPRM further inquires whether calls relating to debt collection, win-back campaigns or other retention efforts should be included in any percentage limit of calls made from or answered by a foreign call center. It also asks whether American Standard English proficiency will have a greater impact on customer satisfaction on certain types of calls than others.
Sufficient Capacity in U.S. Call Centers
The NPRM raises the practical question whether U.S. call centers have “sufficient capacity” today to handle the expected increased volume of calls (whatever that may be). It asks what obstacles and costs providers would face in transitioning their call center operations, and whether there should be a “phase in” period for a transition of call center operations to the U.S. Finally, it inquires whether smaller providers or those serving rural areas will be more uniquely affected, and if so, how should the rules take into account those considerations.
Bond Requirements To Deter Robocalls
In a separate set of proposals, the FCC seeks comment on requiring providers that transmit calls from foreign countries to the US, particularly international gateway providers, to post bonds. The FCC seeks comment on a range of topics about bond amounts, drawdown triggers, due process protections, replenishment duties, and how to administer such a new bond program. Alternatively, the FCC also asks about government-imposed fees on unlawful traffic.
FCC Legal Authority
These sweeping proposed rules about sourcing of call center operations raise significant questions about the legal authority for the FCC to impose such sourcing requirements, whether upon FCC-regulated communications providers under the Communications Act, or more broadly, upon all business entities subject to the TCPA. The proposals raise issues under the First Amendment of protected commercial speech. Furthermore, whether the FCC or the Federal Trade Commission has the appropriate jurisdiction to regulate customer service activities is in question.
All of these measures raise potentially daunting financial and technological challenges to the current call center business model. That model relies heavily on foreign call centers to achieve both cost efficiencies (which ultimately are borne by consumers in the end-user cost to purchase products and services) and 24x7 coverage. As such, these proposals would directly impact both outsourced call center providers and their substantial foreign call center operations and many employees, but also large U.S. businesses that currently rely heavily on these foreign call center operations.
If you are interested in submitting comments, please contact one of the members of PLG’s Communications, Media & Entertainment Practice listed below for assistance.
Comment Schedule
Following publication in the Federal Register, comments on the NPRM are due May 26, 2026, with reply comments due June 22, 2026.
[1] Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, In the Matter of Improving Customer Service and Protecting Consumers through Onshoring, et al., CG Docket No. 26-52 (rel. March 27, 2026) (“NPRM”), at 2.
[2] For example, the FCC observes that the Philippines, which has been recognized as the “Call Center Capital of the World”, has “over a million people employed in call centers, mostly on behalf of United States businesses.” NPRM at 3 & n.9.
