News

Aiming to boost customer confidence in picking up phone calls from unknown numbers, T-Mobile and partners completed a wireless call that used authenticated caller ID and showed details like company branding to provide more information about who was calling and why. The proof-of-concept, which the partners believe to be a first, was completed with First Orion, CTIA, Everbridge, iconectiv, NetNumber, Numeracle, and Twilio.

On Friday, T-Mobile US announced a new technology demonstration that builds upon the verification of STIR/SHAKEN and takes it a step further, to affirmatively identify businesses or organizations who are calling — like doctors’ offices and school districts — so that they can reach their customers, who right now are often afraid to answer unknown numbers and can therefore miss important and wanted calls. Rich Call Data (RCD) would take a STIR/SHAKEN verified call to T-Mobile US subscribers and draw on a CTIA-maintained database to not only transmit the number that is calling and that it is verified (i.e., not likely to be spam), but also include the company name and even logo. Businesses would have to register with the database and go through a verification process in order for it all to work, with the goal of not just alerting customers to verified and unverified calls, but proactively helping them feel more confident that they can identify and answer legitimate calls.

Yesterday, T-Mobile and its partners like First Orion, CTIA, Everbridge, iconectiv, NetNumber, Numeracle, and Twilio, completed what is believed to be the first wireless call to combine authenticated Caller ID, Rich Call Data (RCD), and the FCC's STIR/SHAKEN system. RCD is designed to make phone owners feel comfortable answering an incoming call by including a brand logo and other information including a reason for the call.

Recent reports indicate U.S. consumers are on pace to receive more than 52 billion robocalls this year. T-Mobile, along with a premier group of technology companies, messaging industry stakeholders and voice service providers including First Orion, CTIA, Everbridge, iconectiv, NetNumber, Numeracle, and Twilio, has now completed what is believed to be the first ever wireless call to combine authenticated Caller ID and Rich Call Data (RCD), powered by the STIR/SHAKEN framework and protocols. With this important step forward for the industry, the job of scammers and spammers will soon be even harder.

STIR/SHAKEN Summit Spotlights International Impact and Upcoming Regulatory Requirements of Authenticating Voice Calls

July 19-23, 2021

What: Presented by the SIP Forum, the 2021 STIR/SHAKEN Virtual Summit is a reprise of the special mid-year webinar series focused on the STIR/SHAKEN Call Authentication Framework.