The FCC expanded rules concerning wireless carriers’ obligation to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework to block robocalls. It says the action builds on the industry and agency’s success in implementing the framework used to trace back, block, and/or identify originators of illegal spoofed robocalls.
The new rules will require intermediate carriers that receive unauthenticated IP calls directly from domestic originating providers to use STIR/SHAKEN to authenticate those calls. By requiring the next carrier in the call path to take this action, the FCC closes a gap in the caller ID authentication regime.
The FCC made clear that violations of its mandatory blocking rules could result in substantial fines using per call forfeiture calculations. The rules also apply procedures for removal from the Robocall Mitigation Database to all intermediate carriers and an expedited removal process for carriers submitting false certifications.
During Thursday’s vote, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called the “crackdown” reasonable. “I look forward to a day, hopefully in the not distant future, when I can look at my cell phone and actually answer it when it’s a number that’s not already in my contact list.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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