INCOMPAS News -- September 28, 2026

Vol. 22, No. 39

September 28, 2026

Webinar This Wednesday, 1 p.m. ET

Learn the Path to IP Modernization

For communications service providers (CSPs), the sunset of legacy switching isn't just a maintenance headache – it's a forcing function. The networks built to support decades of TDM traffic are reaching a natural limit, and the CSPs that treat that limit as an opportunity, rather than a deadline, are the ones positioning themselves for long-term success.

Join us for the webinar Rethinking the Network: A CSP's Practical Path to IP Modernization as Kyle Trullinger, product manager for Voice Services, Communications Market at TNS, breaks down what a well-planned IP transition actually looks like on the ground, including:

How to sequence the move away from aging, multi-vendor infrastructure without interrupting service
What carrier-grade security, high availability and dedicated resources should mean in practice when evaluating cloud-based architecture
How freed-up technical staff can be redirected toward the services customers are asking for, such as advanced voice, unified communications and cloud-based collaboration.

You'll also hear about the often-overlooked aspects of modernization, including maintaining trusted communications throughout the transition, addressing evolving regulatory requirements and building a flexible network foundation that simplifies operations, improves agility and supports long-term service innovation.

Leave with a practical framework for planning your own transition from TDM to IP, assessing priorities and managing risk.

Wednesday, September 30 | 1 p.m. ET

Advanced registration required.

Can't attend?

INCOMPAS Files Comments on Eliminating Wireline Deployment Barriers in Section 253 Proceednig

INCOMPAS last week filed comments with the FCC in response to the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on eliminating state and local barriers to wireline deployment.

"State and local permitting practices continue to impose excessive delays, above cost fees and burdensome conditions that Section 253 was enacted to prevent,” said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering.

In its filing, INCOMPAS primarily urged the FCC to:

Adopt a 90-day presumptive deadline, rather than the proposed 120 days, for substantial new wireline construction approval, with shorter deadlines for less complex authorizations, and to ensure the federal clock begins at the first mandatory procedural step so it does not become an entitlement to delay authorizations that can reasonably be processed more quickly.
Limit state and local compensation to objectively reasonable, actual and direct costs caused by a provider's use of the right of way, backed by transparent documentation and public disclosure sufficient to verify cost causation.

“The FCC's Build America Agenda depends on getting permitting right, and these reforms are a critical piece of that work," Pickering continued. “Together, these reforms will give providers and governments predictable ground rules, reduce unnecessary disputes and accelerate the wireline deployment on which America's broadband and AI future depends.”

Pies to Speak at Data Center POWER eXchange on September 30

Staci Pies, senior vice president of Government Relations and Policy at INCOMPAS, will be participating in a panel at Data Center POWER eXchange in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, September 30 at 1:45 p.m.

Permitting in Practice: What's Actually Moving will focus on how data center projects often move—or stall—through state and local decisions on siting, environmental review, utility service, cost allocation, and community impacts. They will examine how early coordination among utility commissions, environmental agencies, governors’ offices, consumer advocates, utilities, and local governments can change project outcomes before sites, incentives, and infrastructure commitments harden. And, they will discuss what is moving, what remains stuck, and where permitting, power availability, and public trust are likely to collide next.

FCC Issues Small Entity Compliance Guide on BDC Order

The FCC issued a small entity compliance guide on the May 2026 sixth report and order that streamlines and improves the Broadband Data Collection by alleviating unnecessary regulatory burdens on service providers and challenge process participants. The guide provides information on compliance requirements, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and the implementation date.

FCC Announces E-Rate Competitive Bidding Rules Now Effective

The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau issued a public notice announcing the Office of Management and Budget approved the new information collection requirements associated with sections 54.503 (competitive bid requirements) and 54.504 (requests for services) adopted in the May 2026 E-Rate competitive bidding report and order. These requirements are now effective. An FCC notice was published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2026, announcing OMB approval.

Reps. Introduce Bill to Expand Secure and Trusted Networks Act

Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) introduced a bipartisan bill to update and improve the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.

The Communications and Technology Transparency Act would expand the types of malicious technology and equipment from foreign adversaries that can be added to the FCC’s covered list, streamline the process for barring these products and services from coming into the United States, and clarify the method for determining what is considered malicious technology or equipment.

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