BANDWIDTH and VONAGE lose FCC rules exemption for STIR/SHAKEN

Fri Feb 18 22:01:09 UTC 2022

On Fri, 18 Feb 2022, Michael Thomas wrote:

>
> On 2/17/22 11:58 AM, Sean Donelan wrote:
>> 
>> https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-finds-two-providers-failed-fully-implement-stirshaken-0 
>> 
>> The Federal Communications Commission today took action to ensure that 
>> voice service providers meet their commitments and obligations to implement 
>> STIR/SHAKEN standards to combat spoofed robocall scams. Specifically, voice 
>> service providers Bandwidth and Vonage lost a partial exemption from 
>> STIR/SHAKEN because they failed to meet STIR/SHAKEN implementation 
>> commitments and have been referred to the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau for 
>> further investigation.
>
>
> So for probably a year or so before the Stir/Shaken mandate came, I have been 
> seeing a lot less phone spam. I don't know if that's typical but it was quite 
> noticeable for me. What that tells me is that providers likely started 
> clamping down on their shady customers well ahead of the mandate which says 
> that regulatory fiat would have been sufficient too. But that hinges on 
> whether my situation is typical though.

  Reading the actual FCC order, Bandwidth HAS implemented STIR/SHAKEN
  everywhere EXCEPT on some legacy hardware that does not support adding the
  headers.

  While Bandwidth should have either replaced the hardware or updated the
  software to support it by now, they did not, and they got slapped for it.

  It may be that the customers connected to that hardware are being
  difficult, or that, as a CLEC, they have a crap-ton of older hardware in
  different physical switch locations that they couldn't or just didn't get
  to upgrading or replacing.

  I asked Bandwidth for details, nothing yet.

Beckman
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Peter Beckman                                                  Internet Guy
beckman at angryox.com                                https://www.angryox.com/
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