ICLE Scholars Welcome FCC Draft Order to Modernize Copper-Retirement Rules
PORTLAND, Ore. (March 5, 2026) — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a draft order that would reform the regulatory framework for retiring legacy copper networks. The order could accelerate broadband investment and speed the transition to fiber and wireless infrastructure, scholars with the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) said today.
As the telecommunications sector shifts rapidly toward fiber-optic and wireless technologies, ICLE has encouraged regulators to remove outdated mandates that slow investment and network modernization. The center welcomed the FCC’s latest move as a step toward aligning regulation with current market realities.
ICLE scholars note that rules promulgated under Sections 214 and 251 of the Communications Act require providers to maintain aging copper infrastructure for a rapidly shrinking subscriber base. Maintaining those networks imposes billions in avoidable costs, diverts resources from high-speed broadband deployment, and ignores a marketplace where 79% of U.S. adults now live in wireless-only households.
“The FCC’s order on copper retirement is a welcome reality check for a regulatory framework stuck in the 1990s,” said Kristian Stout, ICLE director of innovation policy. “Providers are spending billions to maintain a deteriorating copper network for a shrinking share of customers. The United States cannot keep paying to stand still while the rest of the world moves to fiber. By removing legacy barriers, the commission is freeing capital to invest in faster, more energy-efficient networks.”
To arrange an interview with Kristian Stout, contact ICLE Director of Communications Jim Fellinger. ICLE’s latest issue brief on copper retirement is available for download here.
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.