Insights

Strike Force Formed Against Unwanted Robocalls

Aug 25, 2016

Washington, D.C. — On August 19, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a kick-off meeting of the Robocall Strike Force. The Robocall Strike Force is a designated group of telecom and tech company representatives created to stop unwanted Robocalls.

The initiative is driven by Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman, to address the increasing rate of Robocalls, which are the No. 1 complaint from consumers to the FCC. Over 200,000 complaints were made by consumers over the last year to the FCC. Wheeler called Robocalls a "scourge".

Chaired by Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, the Robocall Strike Force includes more than 30 companies – operators, equipment, gateway providers, and service providers. Specific companies include Google parent company Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and Comcast Corp.

The group will meet twice a week to present "concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions" to the FCC on October 19.

Over the next 60 days, the group will focus on 4 key goals:

• Implement authentication standards for VoIP calls, gateway verification, and TDM voice
• Identify tools to allow third-parties to develop filtering options, starting with open APIs
• Specify ways to detect and stop unwanted calls, such as a Do Not Originate list
• Ascertain necessary regulatory steps for the FCC that may be required to achieve the solution

“If we truly want to deal with this, the entire ecosystem has to work together – carriers, device makers, OS developers, network designers,” Stephenson said.  “And don’t forget, regulators and lawmakers have a role to play.  We have to come out of this with a comprehensive play book for all of us to go execute.”

Consumers have a strong dislike for Robocalls, and our industry has the opportunity to make large strides in the effort to eliminate them. As a team, the Robocall Strike Force is a good first step toward eradicating this industry-wide problem.

To view the FCC recording, click here!