Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Robocalling complaints are on the rise. The Federal Trade Commission received 330,264 such complaints in January, according to CBS News. And by August, that had risen to 604,785.

Call authentication can aid in blocking these unwanted calls, and lessening the impact of caller scams. And the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions has erected a Robocalling Testbed to advance such work.

The testbed is hosted by the Neustar Trust Lab. It helps validate industry standards supported by the Industry Robocall Strike Force. The Federal Communications Commission established the IRSF last year.

TransNexus (News - Alert) Inc. has now completed testing at the lab. It says that proves the effectiveness of, and its interoperability with, caller authentication standards.

The caller authentication, digital sign, and verification standards to which TransNexus is referring were developed by ATIS (News - Alert), the IETF, and the SIP Forum. That includes Internet Engineering Task Force work. And it includes the SHAKEN framework, developed by the joint ATIS/SIP Forum IP-NNI Task Force. (SHAKEN stands for Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs.)  

“Digital signing and verification of calling numbers will be important features for our customers. They plan on early adoption of the SHAKEN technology as a way to differentiate themselves from less innovative and slower moving competitors,” said TransNexus founder Jim Dalton. “Interop (News - Alert) testing with the ATIS Robocalling Testbed, hosted by the Neustar Trust Lab, is a great service to promote the security features and practices needed to restore trust in the public telephone network.”

A recent report by CBS News documents Congressional testimony by the Federal Trade Commission about the agency’s progress in eliminating – or at least lessening – illegal robocalling.

“The process has been significant,” the media outlet suggests.

In Oct. 4 comments, Lois Greisman, associate director of the FTC’s (News - Alert) division of marketing practices, reported that her agency has leveled lawsuits against 144 businesses and 102 individuals charged with using computer dialing to make illegal robocalls. And those efforts resulted in the payment of $292 million in damages.