Pai Proposes Stir/Shaken Rules Implementing Traced Act
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who has said the FCC would mandate secure telephone identity revisited standards and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Stir/Shaken) technology if major providers don’t move quickly enough, said Friday the agency plans to vote on that at the March 31 commissioners’ meeting (see 2003060019). Industry officials said the new rules implement at least some provisions in the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act, signed into law in January (see 1912310028). The exact details will be released when the draft is issued Tuesday. The act directs the commission to require providers to implement Stir/Shaken in their networks within 18 months of enactment.
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“Industry-wide implementation would reduce the effectiveness of illegal spoofing, allow law enforcement to identify bad actors more easily, and help phone companies identify calls with illegally spoofed caller ID information before those calls reach their subscribers,” the FCC said. It said the item is consistent with the Traced Act, imposing a deadline of June 30, 2021. Some smaller carriers could get an extra year, under a related rulemaking.
Pai issued a warning in June when the FCC approved a declaratory ruling allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default (see 1906060056). At a July summit, Pai again issued that warning. Smaller carriers said then they face hurdles, including the costs of making network changes and a lack of vendors selling technology to smaller companies (see 1907110023). Pai circulated an order and Further NPRM Friday and a draft will go public Tuesday, a spokesperson told us.
Officials at consumer groups told us they’re waiting to see whether the ruling is consistent with or goes beyond the Traced Act.
“NTCA and its members are eager to participate in the effort to stop illegally spoofed robocalls, and we appreciate the FCC appearing to provide some accommodation for certain smaller and rural operators who may need some additional time,” emailed Mike Romano, senior vice president-industry affairs and business development. “A holistic approach to this effort will require not only upgrades within existing IP-enabled networks, but also some means of addressing authentication issues on non-IP networks, as well as common-sense rules of the road to make sure that IP-enabled networks interconnect effectively with one another to pass call authentication information.”
“Illegal robocalls are a top concern for all consumers, and CCA’s members are highly motivated to implement solutions that provide a better experience for their customers,” emailed Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry. “We appreciate the FCC’s continued focus on this issue, including their acknowledgement that small and rural providers may need additional time to implement reasonable solutions and that alternative technologies must be explored for non-IP networks.”
“Protecting consumers from illegal and unwanted robocalls is a top priority of the wireless industry,” said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs. ACA Connects is pleased the draft FNPRM would propose a year more for smaller and rural phone service providers, a spokesperson emailed. “Stemming the tide of illegal and unwanted robocalls is a matter of great concern” for members, he noted. NCTA declined to comment.