AT&T plans to work with Comcast to curb robo calls. The phone and cable giants are joining forces for a new service that will give consumers the means to authenticate calls that are made between networks.
The system will let a user verify incoming calls not just from within a single provider’s network but also from other participating providers. Selected consumers already are testing the filtering system.
AT&T says the test calls are being authenticated and verified using the SHAKEN/STIR protocol. It is the first time such call verification is being carried out between providers using SHAKEN/STIR.
Customers will soon be able to see whether a call is really coming from the callerOpens a new window ID that they see on their display. While the cooperation will not curb robo calls entirely, it will let users see if a call has been verified.
Illegal calls that are using a fake number will not be verified.
Federal regulators and members of Congress are ramping up pressure on phone companies to curb robo calls that are becoming more and more prolific – and increasingly despised – by the month. The Trump administration’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, said in November that he expects a solution to spoofingOpens a new window calls to be in place by the end of 2019. While others have called for quicker actions, Pai’s statement means phone carriers will have to install a call authentication system by year’s end, and it will require considerable cooperation across the industry.
Pai has said that he wants all carriers, including VoIP and wireless providers, to work together. “This goal should be achievable for every major wireless provider, interconnected VoIP operator and telephone company,†Pai said. “I expect those lagging behind to make every effort to catch up. If it appears major carriers won’t meet the deadline to get this done this year, the FCC will have to consider regulatory intervention.â€
SHAKEN and STIROpens a new window prevents spoofing of caller ID systems by using digital certificates based on common public key cryptography techniques. They can ensure the calling number of a telephone is secure. Each telephone service provider can obtain their digital certificate from a certification authority that is trusted by other phone companies. The technology enables the called party to verify that the calling number is accurate and has not been spoofed.
SHAKEN/STIR will obviously work best once it has been implemented by all providers. The FCC has already named a number of providers that it sees as behind the curve in the implementation, among them Charter, Frontier, Sprint and US Cellular.
Key takeaways:
- AT&T and Comcast have said they are now working together on a new service that will help to curb the incidence of robo calls to consumers within their networks.
- The cross-network initiative is evidence that some in the telecom industry are taking seriously the remarks made by FCC chairman Ajit Pai last year that the commission would consider regulatory intervention if there was not more evidence of progress by certain companies.
- The implementation of SHAKEN/STIR call certification will be more effective if there is cross-network cooperation including VoIP and wireless providers.