Telecommunications law is the body of federal and state regulation that governs how voice, data, and video move across wired and wireless networks in the United States. It sets the rules for who can use the airwaves, how carriers must treat customers and competitors, what platforms can be sued for, and how much of your call data your provider is allowed to share. The Federal Communications Commission sits at the center of the system, but Congress, the federal courts, state utility commissions, and local governments all shape the rules you live under.
Because the technology moves faster than Congress does, most of the day-to-day rulemaking happens at the FCC, and much of the recent change has come from federal courts revisiting how far that agency’s authority reaches.
The FCC and Its Authority
Congress created the FCC under 47 U.S.C. § 151 to centralize authority over interstate and international wire and radio communications.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 151 – Purposes of Chapter; Federal Communications Commission Created The founding mandate is broad: make rapid, efficient, nationwide communication available to everyone at reasonable rates, while promoting safety and national defense. The agency runs through specialized bureaus covering wireless services, wireline competition, media, public safety, and consumer affairs. Those bureaus process license applications, write technical standards, and investigate complaints.
One of the FCC’s most consequential jobs is managing the electromagnetic spectrum. Under 47 U.S.C. § 309(j), the agency assigns spectrum licenses through competitive bidding, which prevents interference and directs frequencies toward their highest-value use.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 309 – Application for License That auction authority lapsed in March 2023 when Congress let it expire, and the FCC could not hold new auctions for nearly two years. In 2025, Congress reauthorized auction authority through September 30, 2034.
The Two Statutes Everything Else Builds On
Two laws form the backbone of the field. The Communications Act of 1934 replaced a fragmented regulatory landscape with a single framework and created the FCC.3Federal Communications Commission. Communications Act of 1934 Its original vision treated telephone service as a public utility, aiming at universal service so every household would eventually get basic communications regardless of location or income. For decades, that produced regulated monopolies where a single carrier served each region under government-set rates.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 rewrote the rules to favor competition and to let any communications business compete in any market.4Federal Communications Commission. Telecommunications Act of 1996 Under 47 U.S.C. § 251, incumbent local phone companies must offer interconnection at any technically feasible point on their networks, provide access to unbundled network elements at just and reasonable rates, and allow competitors to resell their services.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 251 – Interconnection The 1996 Act also drew the line between “telecommunications services” and “information services” that drives many of today’s biggest fights. A telecommunications service provides a transmission path. An information service provides the capability to generate, store, or process data. Classification decides how heavily the FCC can regulate the offering.
Title I, Title II, and Net Neutrality
The classification question is not academic. A service under Title II is a common carrier: it must offer service on nondiscriminatory terms, the FCC can regulate rates and practices, and the carrier cannot refuse to serve customers or favor certain traffic. Under Title I, an information service faces far lighter oversight, with broad flexibility over pricing, network management, and service design.
The FCC has swung back and forth on where broadband internet access belongs. In 2015 it reclassified broadband as a Title II service and imposed net neutrality rules against blocking, throttling, and paid fast lanes. In 2017 it reversed and returned broadband to Title I. In 2024 it tried again to restore Title II and net neutrality.
That last attempt did not survive review. On January 2, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the FCC’s 2024 order, holding that broadband providers offer an information service and that the FCC lacked authority to reclassify them as common carriers.6United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In Re MCP No. 185 – Federal Communications Commission The court applied the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which eliminated judicial deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Absent new legislation, broadband remains an information service under federal law, though several states have their own net neutrality rules in effect.
Section 230 and Online Platforms
Section 230, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230, is one of the most consequential provisions in internet law. Its core rule is short: no provider or user of an interactive computer service can be treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by someone else.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 230 – Protection for Private Blocking and Screening of Offensive Material A social media platform, search engine, or web host generally cannot be sued for defamation, fraud, or similar claims based on content users posted rather than content the platform created.
The statute also protects platforms that voluntarily remove or restrict content they consider objectionable, even where that content is constitutionally protected. The design was to encourage moderation without making platforms responsible for everything they missed. Section 230 does not shield platforms from federal criminal liability, intellectual property claims, or violations of federal privacy laws. Reform proposals have been constant in Congress, but the statute remains unchanged as of 2026.
Your Privacy: CPNI Rules
Carriers collect detailed information about your communications, and federal law calls it Customer Proprietary Network Information. CPNI includes data about the quantity, type, destination, location, and amount of use of your service, along with billing information.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 222 – Privacy of Customer Information Your carrier knows who you called, when, for how long, and often where you were.
Under 47 U.S.C. § 222, carriers can use that information only to provide the service you subscribed to, unless you approve or the law requires disclosure. They may share CPNI without your consent in limited situations: to bill you, to protect against fraud, to respond during an ongoing customer interaction, or to provide location data to emergency services.9eCFR. 47 CFR Part 64 Subpart U – Privacy of Customer Information Sharing CPNI with third parties outside those exceptions without permission violates federal law. Carriers must file annual compliance certifications with the FCC and notify consumers and law enforcement of breaches involving CPNI.10Federal Communications Commission. Privacy/Data Security/Cybersecurity: Customer Proprietary Network Information
Robocalls, Spam Texts, and AI Voices
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act at 47 U.S.C. § 227 is the primary federal tool against unwanted robocalls and spam texts. The law makes it illegal to use an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to call a cell phone, pager, or any number where the recipient pays for the call, without prior express consent or an emergency purpose.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Prerecorded calls to home phones also require consent.
If you receive illegal robocalls or texts, you can sue. The TCPA provides $500 in statutory damages per violation, and courts can triple that to $1,500 per call or text where the violation was willful or knowing.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Those numbers add up quickly. For telemarketing, the National Do Not Call Registry lets you opt out of sales calls, and telemarketers are barred from calling registered numbers after 31 days on the list.13National Do Not Call Registry. National Do Not Call Registry
The FCC also requires voice providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller authentication framework, which digitally validates caller ID information as calls pass through IP networks. Most providers, including gateway providers receiving calls from foreign networks, must now authenticate the calls they carry.14Federal Communications Commission. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication
In February 2024, the FCC unanimously ruled that calls using AI-generated voices qualify as “artificial” voices under the TCPA, so they carry the same consent requirements and penalties as traditional robocalls.15Federal Communications Commission. FCC Makes AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls Illegal An AI call impersonating a real person now faces the same legal consequences as a prerecorded one.
Universal Service and Broadband Funding
The Communications Act has always carried a universal-service mandate, and 47 U.S.C. § 254 made it concrete by creating the Universal Service Fund. The statute requires every interstate telecommunications carrier to contribute on an equitable and nondiscriminatory basis.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 254 – Universal Service The principles: quality service at affordable rates everywhere, including rural and high-cost areas, with access to advanced services for schools, libraries, and healthcare providers.
Carriers fund the USF through a percentage of interstate end-user revenues. That contribution factor fluctuates quarterly. For the second quarter of 2026, the proposed factor is 37.0 percent, a figure that has climbed sharply as the traditional revenue base has shrunk while program costs have held steady.17Federal Communications Commission. Contribution Factor and Quarterly Filings – Universal Service Fund (USF) Management Support Carriers typically pass this through as a line item on your bill.
The USF distributes money through four main programs. Lifeline provides up to $9.25 per month toward phone or broadband service for eligible low-income households, with an enhanced benefit of up to $34.25 per month on Tribal lands, limited to one benefit per household.18Federal Communications Commission. Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications E-Rate funds discounted internet and telecommunications services for schools and libraries, with discounts of 20 to 90 percent depending on poverty level and location, under an inflation-adjusted 2026 funding cap of $5.2 billion.19Federal Communications Commission. E-Rate – Schools and Libraries USF Program The High Cost and Connect America programs subsidize carriers serving rural and remote areas. Rural Health Care helps rural providers access telecommunications and broadband at rates comparable to urban ones.
Separately, Congress put $42.45 billion into broadband deployment through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.20BroadbandUSA. Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, BEAD prioritizes unserved locations, then underserved ones, before other eligible projects.
What the FCC Can Do to Violators
Under 47 U.S.C. § 503(b), the FCC imposes forfeiture penalties that are adjusted annually for inflation. The 2025 maximums:
- Common carriers: up to $251,322 per violation or per day of a continuing violation, capped at $2,513,215 for any single act.21Federal Communications Commission. Inflation Adjustment of Maximum Forfeiture Penalties
- Broadcasters and cable operators: up to $62,829 per violation, capped at $628,305 per act, with higher limits of $508,373 per violation (up to $4,692,668 total) for obscene or indecent broadcasts.21Federal Communications Commission. Inflation Adjustment of Maximum Forfeiture Penalties
- Equipment manufacturers and service providers: up to $144,329 per violation, capped at $1,443,275 per act.21Federal Communications Commission. Inflation Adjustment of Maximum Forfeiture Penalties
- Pirate radio broadcasters: up to $2,453,218 for willful violations, with daily penalties of up to $122,661.21Federal Communications Commission. Inflation Adjustment of Maximum Forfeiture Penalties
Beyond fines, the FCC can revoke licenses, issue cease-and-desist orders, and refer cases for criminal prosecution. For companies that depend on FCC licenses, the threat of revocation is often enough on its own.
Where State and Local Law Still Applies
Federal law does not cover everything. State public utility commissions regulate communications that stay within state borders, including local telephone rates, service quality standards, and consumer billing disputes. These are the bodies that handle the complaints federal agencies usually will not, such as a disputed charge on a local bill or a neighborhood outage.22Federal Communications Commission. State Public Utility Commission Contact List
Local governments control the physical footprint of telecommunications infrastructure through right-of-way permits and franchise agreements. Laying fiber under a street or mounting a cell antenna on a utility pole needs local approval, and those agreements often include fees or community service commitments.
Federal law sets outer limits on local authority. For wireless facility siting, 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7) preserves local zoning power but bars local governments from unreasonably discriminating among functionally equivalent wireless providers, from effectively prohibiting wireless service, and from denying siting requests without substantial evidence in a written record, and requires them to act within a reasonable period.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 332 – Mobile Services Local governments also cannot regulate wireless facilities based on radio-frequency health effects as long as the facilities meet FCC emission standards. Where federal law creates a uniform national policy, that policy overrides conflicting state or local rules.