Media Contact: 
Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509
will.wiquist@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

CHAIRMAN PAI: CALLER ID AUTHENTICATION IS NECESSARY FOR AMERICAN CONSUMERS IN 2019
Many Phone Companies Have Offered Encouraging Timelines for 
Rolling Out This Critical Service for Combating Spoofed Robocalls 

WASHINGTON, February 13, 2019—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today reiterated his call for a robust caller ID authentication system to combat illegal caller ID spoofing.  The Chairman recently asked the nation’s largest carriers to provide details about their caller ID authentication plans and he has called for implementation to take place this year. 

“American consumers are sick and tired of unwanted robocalls, this consumer among them.  Caller ID authentication will be a significant step towards ending the scourge of spoofed robocalls.  It’s time for carriers to implement robust caller ID authentication.  Uniform adoption will help improve authentication throughout the network and make sure no consumer gets left behind.  I applaud those companies that have committed to deploy the SHAKEN/STIR framework in 2019.  This goal should be achievable for every major wireless provider, interconnected VoIP operator, and telephone company—and I expect those lagging behind to make every effort to catch up.  If it appears major carriers won’t meet the deadline to get this done this year, the FCC will have to consider regulatory intervention,” said Chairman Pai.  

On November 5, 2018, Chairman Pai demanded that the phone industry begin providing caller ID authentication for consumers in 2019.  In response, phone companies—including wireless companies, traditional landline providers, and tech companies offering VoIP—outlined their plans.  The carriers’ responses can be found here. 

While some carriers committed to rollout these services in the coming months, others hedged, citing concerns that other carriers appear to have already addressed.  Chairman Pai believes that wireless providers, interconnected VoIP providers, and telephone companies should make real caller ID authentication (the SHAKEN/STIR framework) a priority and believes that major carriers can meet his 2019 goal.

Under the SHAKEN/STIR framework—a set of protocols and a multi-phase framework developed with the input of many stakeholders—calls traveling through interconnected phone networks would have their caller ID “signed” as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before reaching consumers.  The framework digitally validates the handoff of phone calls passing through the complex web of networks, allowing the phone company of the consumer receiving the call to verify that a call is from the person making it.

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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).