AT & T and Comcast Announce Automated Call Control System

AT & T and Comcast partner to authenticate calls between the two networks, allowing customers to know if there is a real caller (not a spammer) on the phone. It will not cover all calls received by AT & T and Comcast customers, but it is a step in the right direction to combat the plague of automated calls.

According to AT & T, the agreement is probably the "first" for the country to authenticate calls between two providers via the SHAKEN / STIR protocol (which stands for "Secure processing of claimed information using TOKEN" and "Secure Telephony Identity Revisited"). "). The protocol allows consumers to know when a call they receive has actually passed through the displayed number shown on the caller's identity. AT & T and Comcast have expressed hope that the system will be operational for customers later this year.

The SHAKEN / STIR protocol uses digital certificates to check if a call really comes from where it says it. It is unclear how you will be able to determine if the call is spam, but it is likely that an ID will appear when you receive a legitimate call.

The system has some limitations for the moment. It can only be used to identify legitimate calls – not to detect spam. Automated calls will continue to pass. they will simply appear as unverified. For the moment, since only two companies are involved, phone calls from another provider will not be validated. Until all other operators deploy SHAKEN / STIR and link their systems, it will be impossible to identify each legitimate call.

In February, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, applauded operators such as AT & T, Verizon and T-Mobile, who pledged to take steps to implement the SHAKEN / STIR protocol in their networks. T-Mobile began slowly launching the call system on its network in January, and Sprint plans to test it later this year.

"US consumers are fed up with unwanted automated calls, including this consumer," Pai said. "Authentication of the caller's identity will be an important step to end the scourge of fraudulent automated calls. It is time for operators to implement strong authentication of the caller identity. "