FCC promises 100,000 jobs

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When you call customer service in the time ahead, chances should improve that you will reach someone in the United States, with a forecast of 100,000 new jobs at call centers to be created the next two years, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

In an announcement expected Thursday at a call center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will detail how small towns are replacing jobs lost from declining industry with new jobs made possible by broadband technology.

Call centers need broadband capability to handle Internet-based chat sessions with consumers along with traditional phone calls and email correspondence. But many call centers have moved outside the United States where labor is cheaper.

Where the Jobs Are

Thursday's announcement, partnered with a business group Jobs4America, promises to return some of those jobs to America.

Genachowski, according to his staff, will be at a call center that services the Charbroil outdoor cooking chain and the discount retailer BJ's Warehouse (BJ, Fortune 500). The center's activities have been based in India, the FCC said. The move is creating 175 jobs in the United States.

Jobs4America, in a statement, said the jobs will include "marketing and sales communication with consumers, as well as chat, social media monitoring, and web and phone-based self-service options," such as obtaining information about product recalls and the status of discount rebates for which consumers have applied.

The contact center industry, as the group describes the field, can create thousands of U.S.-based jobs to help cut unemployment.

A tally of jobs from members of Jobs4America includes:

• Aegis Global -- 4000 jobs
• Alpine Access -- 4000 jobs
• Accent -- 2000 jobs
• Novo1 -- 1000 jobs
• Back Office Support Systems -- 1000 jobs
• Sprint -- 600 jobs
• Etech -- 250 jobs
• CallAssistant -- 250 jobs
• AnswerNet -- 200 jobs
• QCSS, Inc. -- 200 jobs