On March 26, 2026, the FCC adopted its Network and Services Modernization Order (FCC 26-19). Its revised network-change and service-discontinuance rules took effect on October 15, 2026. The main changes:
For organizations that fax, the practical result is that carriers can retire the copper behind a fax line with fewer procedural steps and faster approvals. If fax machines, MFPs, or fax servers still depend on POTS lines, now is the time to move them to fax over IP (SIP/T.38) or a cloud fax service.
The days of analog copper lines are numbered, according to FCC Order 19-72A1. The Commission’s August 2019 order not only releases carriers from their obligation to maintain antiquated lines, but also mandates the complete replacement of copper-based services with “alternative voice service arrangements” by August 2nd, 2022.
That deadline came as no surprise to carriers or their customers. Since the late 2010s, telcos have rapidly increased rates to offset escalating maintenance costs and to push copper customers toward alternatives like fiber, LTE, or even 5G.
Newer, more cost-effective technologies—namely voice over IP (VoIP) and fax over IP (FoIP)—are well into their second decade of widespread corporate use, and adoption still seems to be picking up steam. Some industry analysts foresee IP PBX sales more than doubling in the next few years, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 14% through 2027.
Few firms still rely on the T1-based protocols (let alone POTS lines) that were once the backbone of enterprise faxing. Long before Order 19-72A put an expiration date on traditional telephony, the business case for digital faxing was clear.
As enterprise faxing consultants, we at Paperless Productivity® have had a front-row seat to the transition from copper to IP faxing. Every new implementation in the last several years—whether for a household name or a single office—has relied on IP telephony for cost-effective communication, along with security and uptime that meet or exceed analog standards.
An enterprise-grade digital fax solution (or managed service) like RightFax also makes it relatively simple to integrate faxing into everyday tools and processes, and even extend faxing to remote workers and mobile devices.
Odds are your own organization has already migrated to IP telephony—perhaps even several years ago. In doing so, you may have discovered that there is a world of difference between a serviceable IP fax environment and a resilient and efficient one.
And that is where our consultants enter the picture. From ROI and SLAs to user experience and regulatory compliance, we specialize in building (or optimizing) RightFax solutions that keep users productive, Finance delighted, and Legal satisfied.
If you’re contemplating an IP fax implementation, or looking to get more from an existing one, then contact us for a no-obligations chat with a solutions architect.