T-Mobile and Comcast will label genuine calls to fight spam

The new feature is available for T-Mobile and Metro customers of T-Mobile customers with select Samsung and LG smartphones. It will be available to Comcast Xfinity Voice home phone service customers later this year, but it is unclear when and where it will work with Comcast's Xfinity Mobile service. T-Mobile said it was working to extend the offer to other smartphones soon.

Both companies claim to be the first to offer this protection on all networks. But the other suppliers are not far behind. Last month, AT & T and Comcast tested the protocol on their networks, and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) uses the STIR / SHAKEN protocol for calls made over the network. With more than 5.2 billion automated calls last month, suppliers have a strong motive. Unfortunately, this technology does not stop automated calls, it will only locate them more easily.