Reducing Barriers to Network Improvements and Service Changes

What it does

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted a Report and Order that reduces regulatory barriers and costs that hinder the transition from outdated legacy networks and services to next-generation, Internet Protocol (IP)-based infrastructure. The actions taken in the Report and Order combine common sense reforms with core consumer protections that bring the regulatory environment in line with today's communications marketplace while retaining and adopting safeguards to protect public safety and ensure 911 continuity. The Report and Order also concludes that if state or local requirements conflict with the service discontinuance framework adopted in the Report and Order, such requirements negate valid federal regulatory objectives and are subject to preemption.

The Federal Communications Commission's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

2 parts of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

47 CFR 51, 47 CFR 63

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Federal Communications Commission has published 57 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 78 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This rule is effective May 20, 2026, except for instructions 2 (Sec. 51.329), 3 (Sec. 51.333), 6 (Sec. 63.60), 7 (Sec. 63.62), 8 (Sec. 63.63), 10 (Sec. 63.71), and 12 (Sec. 63.602), which are delayed indefinitely. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Title 47 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register