What Will STIR/SHAKEN Mean for You?
STIR/SHAKEN is the FCC’s response to the ever increasing amount of robocalls made by bad actors. What will STIR/SHAKEN mean for you? This FAQ covers how STIR/SHAKEN works and what you need to know to stay FCC compliant.
Whether you're involved in communications or just know somebody working at a telecom company, you’ve probably heard rumblings about something called STIR/SHAKEN. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s why it matters: STIR/SHAKEN is the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) response to their #1 consumer complaint, robocalls. It changes how carriers can deliver calls to any recipient in the US & Canada. What does STIR/SHAKEN mean for you and your business? We cover the details you need to know in this article.
What is STIR/SHAKEN?
STIR/SHAKEN is a security standard designed to reduce the growing numbers of robocalls made to US & Canadian. The acronym stands for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN). Per the FCC, STIR/SHAKEN is a mandated security standard for all calls delivered to recipients in the US & Canada.
What Does STIR/SHAKEN Do?
Today, it’s estimated that between 30% to 40% of all calls made are robocalls. In the US, Americans collectively lose billions of dollars every year to Robocallers. Voice carriers make it more difficult for bad actors to make robocalls by implementing STIR/SHAKEN standards in their networks.
Robocalls make up more than a third of calls made received by phone numbers in the US & Canada.
How It Works
STIR/SHAKEN uses digital certificates to verify the calling number is secure and accurate before connecting callers. Each voice service provider obtains their digital certificate from a certificate authority who is trusted by other telephone service providers. That certificate technology enables the receiving party to verify that the calling number is not spoofed.
Who Does STIR/SHAKEN Affect?
STIR/SHAKEN applies to all voice service providers delivering calls to recipients in the US & Canada that use North American Numbering Plan (NANP) telephone numbers (e.g., USA, Canada, Caribbean) as the display CLI. FCC mandates require that voice providers implement the STIR/SHAKEN standards in their networks or register to the FCC Robocall Mitigation Database and submit a robocall mitigation plan to the FCC Robocall Mitigation Database by June 30, 2021.
What Do AVOXI Customers Need to Know?
First and foremost, AVOXI is compliant with FCC requirements relating to STIR/SHAKEN. If your calls are terminated by AVOXI, there is no action required on your end.
AVOXI is registered in the FCC's Robocall Mitigation Database. AVOXI customers will receive more details regarding the technical requirements of STIR/SHAKEN and our full implementation plan in the near future. Please follow the AVOXI blog for more updates as FCC guidelines around STIR/SHAKEN continue to evolve.
