The FCC tried to get phone companies to
voluntarily enact technology to reduce or eliminate robo calls
and many did, but some did not. The new action is to require all
phone companies to deploy technology that prevents spoofing of
Caller ID under a plan by Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Ajit Pai.
The original requirement on the FCC was part of the TRACED Act
that was signed into law in December 2019. Pai previously hoped
that all carriers would deploy the technology voluntarily.
The STIR and SHAKEN protocols use digital certificates, based on
public-key cryptography, to verify the accuracy of Caller ID.
STIR/SHAKEN would work best if all phone companies adopt it
because it can only verify Caller ID when both the sending
carrier and receiving carrier have deployed the technology.
Depending on how each carrier implements it, flagged calls could
be passed on to consumers with a warning or be blocked entirely.
The requirement would apply to big carriers by June 30, 2021 and
to small and rural providers one year later. In addition to
mobile providers, companies that offer IP-based phone service
over cable or fiber lines would have to comply.
While STIR/SHAKEN might help reduce robocalls or slow their
growth, it is not enough on its own to solve the large and
complicated robocall problem. For one thing, a lot of robocalls
originate from overseas. Robocalls from outside US, are a major
problem.