Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
 COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR

Re: 	Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97.

Americans are fed up with robocalls.  They are tired of scam artists lighting up their phones.  They are done with fraudsters placing calls at all hours of the day and night.  And they are sick of spoofed numbers tricking them into picking up the phone.  Like many people today, I rarely answer my cellphone unless the caller is in my contact list. 
All of this is why the FCC has elevated robocalls to our top enforcement priority.  We have imposed major fines on illegal callers.  And we have even expanded our enforcement authority to target illegal calls that originate overseas.  
But we recognized a while ago that it is not enough to target these calls for enforcement action.  We need to stop these calls before they make it to a consumer’s phone.  So we created a reassigned numbers database to help combat these unwanted calls.  And we’ve allowed carriers to block fraudulent calls and those originated by bad actors.  But in order to do that, carriers need to know where the call is really coming from.  On the more advanced portions of the networks, carriers will have to implement the STIR/SHAKEN protocol so fraudulent robocall campaigns can be traced and blocked.  As for the less advanced networks, where STIR/SHAKEN won’t work, carriers will either have to upgrade them, or develop other methods to identify the traffic on their networks, and file with the Commission to show us how they are tackling the problem. 
	While there is no silver bullet for a problem like robocalls, the actions we have taken will make a real difference in Americans’ lives.  As we found in a previous report, the combination of STIR/SHAKEN and call analytics could save Americans $10 billion per year. 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. 25 (Mar. 31, 2020). 
  So we will keep up the fight against robocalls—through tough enforcement, requiring carriers to better police their networks, and by empowering consumers.  Thanks to the Wireline Competition Bureau for their work on this important item.  It has my support.

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