Starks Writes Providers on Robocall Blocking; Commissioners' Changes Shown in Ruling
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks sent letters to 14 providers seeking details on their plans to offer free, default call blocking services to consumers aimed at curbing “disruptive and dangerous robocalls.” For Starks and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, cost has been a major issue. Starks voted for the declaratory order and Further NPRM last week (see 1906060056). Also Monday, USTelecom said there are calls for robocall tools to be provided free, but that could lead to every carrier opting for the same, cheapest solution instead of employing a variety of them (see 1906100038).
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“Carriers made clear to the Commission: they want to offer call blocking services to consumers by default,” Starks said. “My colleagues and I made clear to carriers: they should not charge consumers for these services. The Commission has acted. Now it is industry’s turn to put these new tools to work for consumers. I’m looking forward to learning the details of their plans to do so.”
The letters ask about plans to deploy call blocking, “including a timeline for implementation,” and how customers will be notified. Starks asked the providers “whether they expect to act contrary to the Commission’s clear expectations and nevertheless charge customers for these services.” He asks for replies by July 10. The providers are: AT&T, Bandwidth, CenturyLink, Charter, Cox, Comcast, Frontier, Google, Sprint, TDS, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon and Vonage.
In December, Rosenworcel wrote letters to a broad group of providers asking them to implement call-blocking at no cost (see 1812120026). She partially dissented last week because the item contained no guarantee customers won’t pay.
Verizon hasn’t reviewed the letter from Starks but is “supportive of last week's order and what it allows us to do for our customers,” a spokesperson emailed. An AT&T spokesperson referred us to a statement last week backing the steps taken by the regulator.
"CenturyLink understands customers’ concerns about the problem of unlawful, automated calls and shares the frustration," a spokesperson emailed. The telco has products for "no solicitation, security screening and privacy caller ID products," she added. They're free with most bundles. U.S. Cellular got Starks' letter "and will be responding in a timely manner," a spokesperson emailed.
TDS is working with vendors "on a solution that works within our diverse telecom network," a spokesperson emailed. "We are making progress and will keep our commitment to the FCC to test Shaken/STIR in our IP network later this year."
Charter, which will respond to Starks as soon as possible, has "a broad range of tools including call blocking, screening, and identification features" for free, a spokesperson emailed. It's "on track to implement the call authentication protocol SHAKEN/STIR by the end of the year," she added.
Meanwhile, Bandwidth doesn't sell directly to consumers, said General Counsel Chris Matton. It's "predominantly" a service provider to other IP-based communications providers, he emailed. "Bandwidth is actively engaged in industry efforts to implement the most robust call authentication framework possible."
Side-by-Side
A side-by-side comparison of the item as released and the draft, meanwhile, found two major changes.
A big add, as expected (see 1905310061), is language seeking comment on possibly mandating that major carriers use of secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) technology. “If major voice service providers fail to meet an end of 2019 deadline for voluntary implementation of the SHAKEN/STIR Caller ID authentication framework, we propose to require voice service providers to implement that framework,” the FCC said.
Shaken/Stir is important in the fight against robocalls, the FCC said: “Seeking comment at this time will permit us to move directly to adoption [sic] an order and final rules in the event that voluntary adoption of SHAKEN/STIR is delayed and it becomes necessary for us to mandate action.”
The second major change is a new section on two reports to be overseen by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly dissented on the part of the item requiring the reports. “To fully assess the efforts of the Commission and industry, the reports should assess the impact of previous Commission rule changes to allow providers to block calls from phone numbers on a Do-Not-Originate list and those that purport to be from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers,” the FCC said. “The reports should also include information on the state of deployment of Caller ID authentication through implementation of the SHAKEN/STIR framework. The reports should contain ‘snapshots’ of deployment and implementation of Commission and industry efforts at the time of release.”