Takeaways From the FCC Proposal on Offshore Contact Centers

The call center landscape is changing rapidly, especially when it comes to centers located overseas that serve U.S. customers. American political leaders have long targeted offshore contact centers as a topic of contention, with advocates for stricter regulation on who should answer customers’ calls, as well as proponents of freedom of commerce, sitting on both sides of the aisle. In July 2025, the latest attempt at legislation, The Keep Call Centers in America Act, was introduced in Congress. The bill has stalled for now, but it reignited a long-standing debate about how and why the United States federal government should regulate outsourced customer contact activities.

On March 4, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission introduced a proposal targeting overseas call center activity in the telecommunications sector. While the proposal is currently under a public comment period prior to the Commission’s vote later this month, the proposed changes are as follows:

• Certification of proficiency in Standard American English for agents
• Disclosure to customers when calls are routed to offshore contact centers
• The option for customers to be transferred to an onshore agent
• Limits on overseas calls
• Tariffs or bonds on illegal robocalls

This act is not final, but the proposal highlights how offshore CX in telecommunications could change rapidly this year. The FCC is subject to regulatory limitations, and this proposal would affect telecom companies that fall under its jurisdiction. Most customer contact companies, such as BPOs, aren’t directly regulated by the FCC. However, this proposal has the potential to set a precedent for other industries in the coming years.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued the following statement about the intent of this legislation: “Americans get frustrated when they call a U.S. business and end up connecting with a call center located abroad. Language and communication barriers often make it difficult for callers to promptly and efficiently get the results they want.” Carr also stated that “foreign-based call centers often create a heightened security risk,” while discussing a new effort to block illegal robocalls through bonds and/or tariffs.

There’s no doubt that customers need clear, articulate, and pleasant service, and businesses are working toward providing it. However, is the weak link in this service chain the location of contact centers, or is the real culprit the structural design itself? Often, the problem has less to do with geography and more to do with systems. When agents are subject to outdated structures or lack the autonomy to escalate situations themselves when appropriate, even the most qualified agents can’t meet high customer expectations. Investing in intensive training and assistance software can equip agents with the tools to better serve customers, regardless of location. Increasing reporting requirements prior to regulatory changes can also help contact centers stay ahead of the curve. If your organization hasn’t recently done so, it may be time to reassess the cost of shifting operations to a more regulation-compliant model.

Many CX teams have been investing in technology to bridge communication gaps. Real-time translation through AI, accent modulation, and voice clarity tech have all changed the contact center landscape, but vendors may need to reevaluate the positioning of these tools. Customer expectations are changing rapidly, and this proposal has the potential to accelerate that shift.

If these proposed items pass, they could be cost-prohibitive for many organizations, especially smaller companies. Forcing the choice between two expensive options, onshoring or investment in new technology, is difficult. It might actually result in lower-quality customer service and longer wait times as businesses invest more money in fewer agents, or eliminate human agents altogether in favor of technology. Customers are already frustrated at how hard it is to talk with a live person, and passing this act could make humans in customer service more expensive and harder to come by.

The FCC continues to collect public feedback on these changes, and opinions have been mixed. While the intent behind this act is to reduce customer frustration, service professionals in the telecom space are concerned that they may be facing a complete contact center overhaul.

Read the FCC website with the full proposal and intent here. The Verge’s comment section on this proposal is an interesting scroll, as is The Washington Post’s opinion article titled, “The FCC Thinks it Knows Best”. Another CCW Digital analyst, Audrey Steeves, was consulted for this article, and you can read her thoughts on a similar situation from October 2024 on the FTC’s “Click to Cancel” rule.

What’s your opinion on this proposal and its implications for the CX space? Shoot me an email at london.whiting@cmpteam.com if you’d like to share your thoughts.

Image credit to Mario Caruso on Unsplash.