FCC to Consider Proposed Rulemaking on Call Authentication

The proposal includes an accelerated date for smaller voice service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework.

The Federal Communications Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) during its Thursday, May 20 meeting “to fight illegal robocalls by proposing to accelerate the date by which small voice service providers that originate an especially large amount of call traffic must implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework,” according to the meeting notice.

The FCC is requiring most voice service providers to implement this technology in their Internet Protocol (IP) networks by June 30, 2021. The FCC granted some providers, including smaller voice service providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines, until June 30, 2023, to implement STIR/SHAKEN.

“New evidence suggests, however, that a subset of small voice service providers appears to be originating a large and increasing quantity of illegal robocalls,” according to the FCC.

As a result, the deadline for those providers is now proposed to be June 30, 2022.

In addition to the shorter deadline for STIR/SHAKEN, the FNRPM would

• Seek comment on how best to identify and define the subset of small voice service providers that are at a heightened risk of originating an especially large amount of illegal robocall traffic; and
• Seek comment on whether to adopt additional measures, including data submissions, to facilitate oversight to ensure that small voice service providers subject to a shortened extension implement STIR/SHAKEN in a timely manner.

If the FCC approves the FNPRM Thursday, comments and reply comments will be due 30 and 60 days, respectively, after publication in the Federal Register.