Caller ID authentication best practices
As per Section 4(b)(7) of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has issued best practices to adopt caller ID authentication technology for voice service providers.
In a Public Notice (PN) released on December 22, 2020, the Bureau noted that the “best practices” are “voluntary” but represented an “industry consensus on the best ways to assist in the overall objective of mitigating robocalling when implementing call authentication frameworks.”
Best practices recommended are approved by Call Authentication Trust Anchor Working Group of the North American Numbering Council (NANC). The Bureau’s PN inspired voice service providers to follow several recommendations when applicable and appropriate.
Recommendations in Appendix A to the PN
- Subscriber vetting
- Telephone number validation
- International call originators
- Third-party validation services
- Ongoing Robocall Mitigation
Selection by Bureau
Finally, the Bureau decided not to adopt two best practice recommendations related to components of the FCC’s STIR/SHAKEN standards. Thus, noting that “voice service providers are already required to comply with those standards to satisfy our caller ID authentication rules” (emphasis supplied).
As a result, the Bureau resolved that these recommendations were not appropriate for inclusion “on a list of voluntary best practices” (emphasis in original).
