INCOMPAS News -- August 31, 2026

Vol. 22, No. 35

August 31, 2026

Registration Discounts End This Thurdsay for The INCOMPAS Show

The 2026 INCOMPAS Show in Nashville is quickly approaching, and now is the time to act if you want to maximize your ROI. Early bird deadlines end this Thursday, September 3.

Join us November 1-3 at the Omni Nashville Hotel for three days of networking and discovering the right partners to drive your business forward.

In addition to daily receptions and networking events, you'll find dedicated times for impromptu meetings with top industry procurement leaders at the Buyers Forum,

General sessions each morning on topics such as:

CEO Outlook, featuring operators with different vantage points on where fiber infrastructure is headed.
Capitalizing on the Digital Backbone: Private Equity and Infrastructure Investments
From Permit to Power-On: Aligning Regulatory Strategy and Business Objectives for Digital Infrastructure Deployment
The New Digital Infrastructure Compact: Aligning Hyperscaler Growth, Energy Policy and Economic Competitiveness

Monday Breakfast and Learn session on The Great Communications Reset: Winning in the Next Era of UC, AI and Teams

A Monday afternoon policy workshop that includes a mix of quick-hit spotlight sessions on topics like pole attachments, USF, E-Rate and robocalls, as well as panel discussions:

And on Tuesday, a marketing workshop with dynamic presentations on:

INCOMPAS Urges Balanced Submarine Cable Security Rules

On August 26, 2026, INCOMPAS filed comments with the FCC in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on submarine cable landing license rules.

INCOMPAS advocated for strong national security protections and continued efforts to streamline submarine cable licensing, while cautioning against new regulatory requirements that are unnecessary, duplicative or unsupported by the record.

INCOMPAS CEO to Speak at Delta Fest on September 4

INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering will be a featured speaker at Delta Fest 2026, a regional gathering to activate economic prosperity across the Deep South.

On September 4 at 2:30 p.m. Pickering will join former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for a session entitled AI, Infrastructure & Competitive Advantage, where they will discuss how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping infrastructure, operations and financial capacity, creating new pathways for businesses and institutions to scale.

Nominations for USAC Board of Directors Due October 20

The FCC issued a public notice seeking nominations for eight positions on the USAC board of directors for a three-year term including representatives from:

Incumbent local exchange carriers with annual operating revenues of $40 million or less
Interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of $3 billion or less
Interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of more than $3 billion
Competitive local exchange carriers
Schools eligible to receive discounts
Rural healthcare providers eligible to receive supported services
Low-income consumers; tribal communities

Nominations are due October 20, 2026.

Pennsylvania Imposes Conditions on Data Center Development

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued an executive order imposing new permitting and tax-incentive conditions on large data centers, including local approval requirements and commitments related to infrastructure costs, water conservation, workforce development, community engagement and resource-use reporting.

The order also removes data centers from the state’s permit-fast-track program and directs officials to pursue policies that prioritize data centers for curtailment and allocate certain PJM reliability costs to them.

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