US robocall rules require action from foreign carriers – i3forum

"I think I can speak for phone users everywhere when I say that robocalls are annoying," Mike Dano, Light Reading’s editorial director for 5G and mobile strategies, wrote recently.Indeed, it's to be hoped that these weird and sometimes unsettling automated calls are soon to be history in the US and ultimately elsewhere, following the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN anti-robocall protocols across all major US carriers.That's about six years after the FCC's chairman called on the operators to start blocking robocalls. Then in 2020, the FCC voted to implement additional regulations designed to allow operators to more aggressively block robocalls.Figure 1:Call waiting: Operators must be careful not to block legitimate call traffic, says i3forum.(Source: PxHerel)Specifically, the agency said it will allow phone companies to use "reasonable analytics, including caller ID authentication information, to identify and block illegal or unwanted calls." The FCC also said it will allow operators like T-Mobile to "block call traffic from bad actor upstream voice service providers that pass illegal or unwanted calls along to other providers, when those upstream providers have been notified but fail to take action to stop these calls."International players need to take actioni3forum, a non-profit telecoms industry body, has now weighed in on the matter because of the impact the new rules are set to have for international telecoms carriers. It also warns that the situation "requires imminent action" from these carriers.In a new report, i3forum provides some insights into how robocalling regulations will impact the termination of traffic to the US and the wider international carrier community.Philippe Millet, the chairman of i3forum, agreed that robocalling is a nuisance for consumers and carriers alike and needs to be tackled by the industry."Robocalling in the US accounts for tens of billions of calls per year, which can be delivered from abroad using caller ID spoofing," he said.However, Millet warned that the industry must also ensure that "legitimate US bound traffic originated abroad, such as call centres or roaming traffic from American travellers, is not affected and is still delivered with the highest possible quality."As explained by the i3forum, the FCC has established the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) portal for certifications regarding robocall mitigation programs and providing guidance on filing procedures.The deadline to file certifications is June 30, 2021. From September 28, 2021, intermediate and terminating voice service providers must only accept traffic from providers that appear in the FCC's certification database.Filippo Cauci, head of service platforms engineering at Telecom Italia Sparkle and chair of the i3forum Technology Work Group, pointed out that even though FCC regulation applies only to voice traffic with a US originating number, "terminating operators in US may require their interconnected partners to register with the RMD."Want to know more about AI and automation? Check out our dedicated AI and automation channel here on Light Reading."Otherwise, they could be stopped from delivering legitimate international voice traffic to US fixed and mobile subscribers," Cauci said."International carriers must be able to collaborate to the traceback activity in order to identify the source of illegal traffic. They must also stop delivering traffic received from their interconnected partner identified as sender of illegal traffic, should a complaint arise."The full paper, "FCC Robocalls Order: Impacts on International Voice Traffic to USA," includes all timing and filing requirements set by the regulation, and actions required by wholesale operators to continue delivering traffic towards US fixed and mobile subscribers.It also outlines possible enhancements that could be adopted by non-US based operators in order to protect voice calling party identity from being tampered or manipulated along the call path. You can read the report here: https://bit.ly/3wzIHK5Related posts:T-Mobile sparks new robocall efforts, promises 'aggressive' offersComcast targets robocalls with verified caller ID system for landline phone serviceCharter clamps down on robocalls— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading