T-Mobile and Sprint have just announced that they’ve developed new anti-robocall technology with the latest update of STIR/SHAKEN, a cross-network system for number verification to protect against scams and robocalls.
This new anti-robocalling technology will give customers peace of mind that calls from the Sprint network to the T-Mobile network (and vice versa) are really coming from the number listed on their caller ID display and are not being spoofed.
“We’re in an arms race with these scammers, and we’ve got to join forces as an industry to keep all wireless customers protected,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “We were first to announce readiness for STIR/SHAKEN, first to implement Caller Verified, and today we lead the industry with the most cross-network STIR/SHAKEN partnerships to keep consumers better protected. T-Mobile will keep innovating and delivering on the frontlines in the battle against unwanted calls, and we won’t stop.”
”While all carriers compete fiercely in the marketplace, we all agree that the industry-wide plague of robocalls and scammers must be tackled arm-in-arm with other carriers as we put the latest technology to work to help protect our customers,” said Sprint CEO Michel Combes. “STIR/SHAKEN is one tool among many that Sprint is utilizing in a multi-year anti-robocalling development program to improve our customers’ experience.”
T-Mobile also announced Caller Verified, the company’s own STIR/SHAKEN implementation. Caller Verified is now operable across 23 smartphones, with more coming soon. T-Mobile says they are now leading the industry in STIR/SHAKEN deployment, working with 4 networks (Comcast Xfinity Voice home, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, and Inteliquent).
What is STIR/SHAKEN?
STIR and SHAKEN are FCC standards for combating robocalls. Here’s how the FCC defines the terms: SHAKEN/STIR is a framework of interconnected standards. SHAKEN/STIR are acronyms for Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) standards. This means that 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. SHAKEN/STIR 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 in fact from the number displayed on Caller ID.
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