The American Bankers Association today joined six trade associations in urging the Federal Communications Commission to adopt a proposal to create a new call authentication requirement designed to limit criminal access to the U.S. calling network.
Current FCC rules require voice service providers to implement the “STIR/SHAKEN” call authentication framework, which requires calls to be signed at origination and attested through the call pathway until the call reaches the recipient. STIR/SHAKEN works only over IP networks, and not over non-IP networks. The FCC’s proposal would require voice service providers that use a non-IP network – that is, a legacy time division multiplexing network – to implement a caller ID authentication framework for that non-IP network within two years.
Since 2022, ABA has urged the FCC to require voice service providers to implement caller ID authentication solutions on non-IP networks. ABA also has called for a “whole-of-government” effort to combat the ever-increasing incidence of fraud.
“Over the past two years, we have sounded the alarm regarding the increasing incidence of impersonation of legitimate companies, often accompanied by illegal “spoofing” of the number used in the caller ID,” the associations said. “[W]e urge the Commission to require Non-IP Providers to transition to IP by a date certain and to require voice service providers within one year to implement caller ID authentication solutions on non-IP networks.”
