FCC will act in 2019 if carriers do not do enough to fight automated calls



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Ajit Pai and the FCC commissioners are becoming more and more enraged and fed up with automated calls like the rest of us. Today, Pai has sent a letter to more than a dozen US mobile phone providers urging them to deploy a method of combating malicious calls at the scale of the mobile phone. industry, or the opposite. "At the same time next year, I think consumers will start seeing it on their phones," Pai said in a press release.

"Carriers must continue to work together to make this happen and I ask those who are late to catch up." He added that "While it does not appear that this system is on track to be operational next year, we will act to make sure of it.

Pai refers to a form of call authentication that would "sign" and validate legitimate phone calls over cellular networks, ignoring billions of unsolicited calls – yes, billions – that harass consumers every month. One of the main disadvantages of automated calls is the impersonation of the caller, which gives the impression that the local number is behind the call. The FCC wants operators across the country to put in place a system that would work on their networks to eliminate false calls. He calls this the SHAKEN / STIR framework:

The structure numerically validates the transfer of telephone calls going through the complex network of networks, allowing the telephone company of the consumer receiving the call to verify that a call is coming from the person supposed to be doing it.

The 14 letters sent today are addressed to CEOs of major telecommunications companies, including Hans Vesterberg (Verizon), John Donovan (AT & T), John Legere (T-Mobile), Brian Roberts (Comcast), Tom Rutledge ( Charter), etc. . Sundar Pichai, from Google, also got one, probably because of the company's Project Fi activity. "If the industry starts to fall behind, the Commission is ready to ensure widespread deployment to reach this important technological milestone," the FCC said in its statement. "And the Commission is considering additional measures, such as allowing voice service providers to block the delivery of unsigned or improperly signed calls to consumers, which could stem the flow of automated calls. fraudulent to US consumers. "

Carriers are already insisting that they work behind the scenes to exclude robotic callers and prevent unwanted interruptions. But this is clearly not enough. For now, there are applications and services that can help you stay calm about what looks like an avalanche of scams that is getting worse every week.

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