Overview
- The FCC, which voted Thursday, opened a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to gather public input on moving more customer support for regulated communications providers back to U.S. call centers.
- The draft outlines caps on the share of customer-service calls handled overseas to nudge providers to onshore more work over time.
- Providers would need to tell callers when an agent is abroad, transfer callers to a U.S.-based agent on request, and keep transactions involving sensitive data inside the United States.
- The proposal includes English-proficiency expectations and training for call takers who serve U.S. customers to reduce communication barriers and improve problem resolution.
- The FCC also floats fees or bonding to deter call-center–originated robocall scams, while industry vendors warn that higher U.S. wages could drive wider use of AI for call intake and routing.