As a part of the ongoing efforts to foster a safer telecommunications ecosystem, FCC rules mandate voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN. Spoofed and potentially illegal calls are the FCC’s top consumer complaint as well as their foremost consumer protection priority. The robocall mitigation framework, STIR/SHAKEN, digitally verifies phone calls in a complex web of networks with the purpose of countering illegal robocalls.
As implementation is a work in progress, the reputation of a wireless service provider will be influenced by how rigorously their policies are defined and executed for this cause. Voice service providers who have not registered in the robocall mitigation database after implementing the STIR/SHAKEN framework are currently at risk of getting their domestic voice traffic blocked.
In 2020, the FCC required voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN no later than June 30, 2021. Small voice service providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers were initially provided with an extension until June 30, 2023 due to their high implementation costs compared to their revenues.
However, reassessments were made in this determination, and the deployment deadline is now accelerated. In a March 2021 report, a call analytics provider Transaction Network Services (TNS) argued that small voice service providers need to implement STIR/SHAKEN for the robocall mitigation initiative to have a significant impact. The report indicates that certain small voice service providers are originating an increasing and disproportionate share of illegal robocalls. Based on this argument and similar logic, the FCC now requires that small service providers implement STIR/SHAKEN in the IP portions of their networks by June 30, 2022.
The FCC requires two categories of voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN before June 2022.
Non-facilities-based providers: Service providers who do not own or operate transmission facilities used to connect to their customers.
Service providers which the Enforcement Bureau has determined prevent illegal robocalls.
In practice, this covers thousands of VoIP Service Providers who rely on the public Internet for connectivity to their customers.
Voice service providers need to respond to the STIR/SHAKEN mandate quickly. If you plan to run a lean network, unnecessary technological and system deployment will only be a hindrance. It's not necessary to add new servers and infrastructure in many networks to achieve compliance and improve protections for your customers. With the right expertise, you can assess what is actually required of your network for the most efficient possible deployment.
ECG gives you access to the right expertise to keep up with the new industry standards and compliance laws. We consolidate communication systems with the best technical expertise and help you implement STIR/SHAKEN in the simplest, most cost-effective way.
STIR/SHAKEN continues to be a moving target, with constant updates in dates and requirements. ECG can help you understand which legal adaptations are permanent and which ones are subject to change. We can help you implement STIR/SHAKEN in just a matter of days and reduce any risk of non-compliance without locking you into a long-term decision.
The most effortless way to STIR/SHAKEN implementation is here.