AT&T and Comcast announce system to combat robocals
AT&T and Comcast work together to authenticate conversations between the two networks and let customers know when a real call is – not a spammer – on the phone. It's not going to cover every call that AT&T and Comcast customers receive, but it's a step in the right direction to fight the scourge of robots.
AT&T states that the deal is likely to be the "nation's first" to approve calls between two vendors through SHAKEN / STIR (which stands for "Safe handling of required information by toKENs" and "Secure Telephony Identity Revisited") protocol . The protocol lets consumers know when a call they receive is actually placed by the displayed number listed on the caller ID. AT&T and Comcast said they hope to get the system up and running for customers later this year.
The SHAKEN / STIR protocol works using digital certificates to check if a call actually comes from where it says it. It is unclear how to tell if the conversation is spam, but it is likely that an identifier will appear when you receive a legitimate call.
The system has some limitations at present. It can only be used to identify legitimate calls ̵[ads1]1; not to detect spam. Robocalls will still come through; they will only appear as unconfirmed. For now, since only two companies are involved, phone calls coming from any other provider will not be validated. Until all other operators take advantage of SHAKEN / STIR and connect their systems, it will be impossible to identify all legitimate calls.
In February, the Federal Communications Commission leader Ajit Pai appealed to carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile who pledged to take steps to implement the SHAKEN / STIR protocol in their networks. T-Mobile began launching the system for network calls in January, and Sprint plans to test it later this year.
"American consumers are sick and tired of unwanted robokals, this consumer among them," said Pai. "Caller ID authentication will be a significant step toward ending the scourge of spoofed robocalls. It is time for operators to implement robust caller identification."
