Regulators approved a declaratory ruling Thursday allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly, who had signaled concerns (see 1906030008 and 1905310061), partially dissented. A Further NPRM asks about additional steps and was strengthened last week to add a proposal that the FCC mandate secure handling of asserted information using tokens and secure telephone identity revisited technology if major voice providers don’t comply with demands Shaken Stir be implemented by year-end.
Some USF program allies raised alarms in interviews and statements about Friday's FCC 3-2 NPRM calling for an overall budget cap for the four programs (see 1905310069). Some plan to spread the word about the rulemaking to the public, hoping for a critical response. Advocates for government fiscal discipline had kinder words about the rulemaking.
Iconectiv will have the job of applying and enforcing secure telephone identity (STI) governance authority rules to make operational the signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) framework for call authentication, ATIS announced Thursday. The company will be charged with trying to ensure STI certificates are available only to authorized service providers and that STI Certification Authorities work to maintain the integrity of the Shaken framework. It's "a major milestone in putting SHAKEN into action, a top industry priority critical to restoring trust in the voice network,” said ATIS CEO Susan Miller. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to Shaken/secure telephone identity revisited framework deployment by major carriers later this year as a route to cracking down on caller ID spoofing and unwanted robocalls. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted that 5 billion robocalls "is BONKERS" and the agency needs "to bite the bullet and require [call authentication technology] NOW." The FCC previously gave Iconectiv a number portability contract that Neustar previously had.
Iconectiv will have the job of applying and enforcing secure telephone identity (STI) governance authority rules to make operational the signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) framework for call authentication, ATIS announced Thursday. The company will be charged with trying to ensure STI certificates are available only to authorized service providers and that STI Certification Authorities work to maintain the integrity of the Shaken framework. It's "a major milestone in putting SHAKEN into action, a top industry priority critical to restoring trust in the voice network,” said ATIS CEO Susan Miller. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to Shaken/secure telephone identity revisited framework deployment by major carriers later this year as a route to cracking down on caller ID spoofing and unwanted robocalls. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted that 5 billion robocalls "is BONKERS" and the agency needs "to bite the bullet and require [call authentication technology] NOW." The FCC previously gave Iconectiv a number portability contract that Neustar previously had.
The digital divide is narrowing "substantially," with Americans without a 25/3 Mbps connection dropping from 26.1 million at the end of 2016 to 21.3 million a year later, the FCC said Wednesday in its 2018 broadband deployment report. But the agency's minority Democratic commissioners dissented, saying the report is built on a shaky foundation of invalid data -- sentiments echoed by some observers. "The rosy picture ... is fundamentally at odds with reality," Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. The agency withdrew and reworked an earlier draft due to "drastically overstated" deployment data from one ISP (see 1905010205).
The digital divide is narrowing "substantially," with Americans without a 25/3 Mbps connection dropping from 26.1 million at the end of 2016 to 21.3 million a year later, the FCC said Wednesday in its 2018 broadband deployment report. But the agency's minority Democratic commissioners dissented, saying the report is built on a shaky foundation of invalid data -- sentiments echoed by some observers. "The rosy picture ... is fundamentally at odds with reality," Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. The agency withdrew and reworked an earlier draft due to "drastically overstated" deployment data from one ISP (see 1905010205).
As T-Mobile and Sprint agreed to concessions to get their deal OK'd, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he'd recommend approving the deal. He would suggest commissioners greenlight the transaction, with an FCC release saying that "in the coming weeks," he will "present his colleagues with a draft order that would resolve this matter."
As T-Mobile and Sprint agreed to concessions to get their deal OK'd, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he'd recommend approving the deal. He would suggest commissioners greenlight the transaction, with an FCC release saying that "in the coming weeks," he will "present his colleagues with a draft order that would resolve this matter."
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday he will ask commissioners to vote June 6 on a declaratory ruling allowing carriers to block unwanted calls to their customers “by default” and giving consumers the ability to block callers not on their contact list. Pai said an accompanying Further NPRM will ask how caller ID authentication standards can help with call blocking.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday he will ask commissioners to vote June 6 on a declaratory ruling allowing carriers to block unwanted calls to their customers “by default” and giving consumers the ability to block callers not on their contact list. Pai said an accompanying Further NPRM will ask how caller ID authentication standards can help with call blocking.