Federal Communications Commission	DA 22-631



DA 22-631
Released:  June 13, 2022

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU REMINDS NON-FACILITIES-BASED SMALL PROVIDERS OF STIR/SHAKEN IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE
WC Docket No. 17-97

This Public Notice reminds non-facilities-based small voice service providers that they must implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework in their Internet Protocol networks no later than June 30, 2022. See Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Fourth Report and Order, FCC 21-122, at para. 23 (rel. Dec. 10, 2021) (Small Provider Order).
 
In March 2020, the Commission adopted rules pursuant to the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, Pub. L. No. 116-105 (2019) (TRACED Act).
 requiring voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication technology in the Internet Protocol portions of their networks by June 30, 2021. Call Authentication Trust Anchor; Implementation of TRACED Act Section 6(a)—Knowledge of Customers by Entities with Access to Numbering Resources, WC Docket Nos. 17-97 and 20-67, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 35 FCC Rcd 3241, 3252, para. 24, 3257-58, paras. 32-35 (2020); 47 CFR § 64.6301.
  In September 2020, the Commission granted extensions for compliance with this deadline to certain classes of providers, Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Second Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd 1876, para. 38 (2020) (Second Caller ID Authentication Report and Order) (explaining that the Commission granted the following extensions from implementation of caller ID authentication:  “(1) a two-year extension to small, including small rural, voice service providers; (2) an extension to voice service providers that cannot obtain a certificate due to the Governance Authority’s token access policy until such provider is able to obtain a certificate; (3) a one-year extension to services scheduled for section 214 discontinuance; and (4) as required by the TRACED Act, an extension for the parts of a voice service provider’s network that rely on technology that cannot initiate, maintain, and terminate SIP calls until a solution for such calls is reasonably available.”).
 including a two-year extension for small voice service providers (100,000 or fewer voice access lines), Id. at 1877, para. 40.
 and required providers with an extension to implement robocall mitigation programs. Id. at 1897, para. 74.
  Based on “overwhelming record support and available evidence showing that non-facilities-based small voice service providers are originating a large and disproportionate amount of robocalls,” the Commission subsequently shortened the extension for this subset of small voice service providers by one year, Small Provider Order at para. 9.
 thus requiring them to implement STIR/SHAKEN in the IP portions of their networks by June 30, 2022. See id. at para. 23.  
  These affected providers were also required to update the robocall mitigation database within 10 business days of the effective date of the Small Provider Order to indicate they are no longer subject to a two-year extension and must implement STIR/SHAKEN by June 30, 2022 in the IP portions of their networks. Id. at para. 24; see also 47 CFR § 64.6305(b)(5); 47 CFR § 64.6305(b)(2)(i) (requiring a voice service provider to indicate the “type” of extension received).  For example, a provider could indicate in its certification that it is subject to a one-year extension for being a non-facilities-based small voice service provider.  
  Moreover, as with other voice service providers, these providers must also update their certifications and associated filings in the Robocall Mitigation Database within 10 business days of completion of STIR/SHAKEN implementation. Small Provider Order at para. 24; see also Second Caller ID Authentication Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 1903, para. 85 (“We also require voice service providers to submit to the Commission via the appropriate portal any necessary updates to the information they filed in the certification process within 10 business days.”). 
 
Those non-facilities-based small voice service providers that fail to implement the authentication framework by June 30, 2022 may be subject to appropriate enforcement action. 47 U.S.C. § 503(b); Second Caller ID Authentication Report and Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 1903, para. 83 (“If we find that a certification is deficient in some way . . . we may take enforcement action as appropriate.  Enforcement actions may include, among others . . . imposition of a forfeiture.”).

Contact Information.  For further information, please contact Jonathan Lechter, Wireline Competition Bureau, Competition Policy Division, at (202) 418-0984 or by email at Jonathan.Lechter@fcc.gov.

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