The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to advance another set of measures aimed at curbing illegal robocalls, with a vote scheduled on a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at its monthly meeting in December that would tighten the requirements Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers must meet to maintain direct access to telephone numbers.
The background: The FCC has spent years building a regulatory framework designed to cut off the avenues illegal robocallers use to originate and transmit large volumes of fraudulent calls. A central component of that effort is the agency’s control over which providers may obtain telephone numbers directly from the nation’s numbering administrators. Providers that misuse this access — or fail to maintain adequate safeguards — can inadvertently allow bad actors to spoof numbers or flood networks with unlawful traffic.
What’s being proposed: The Order under consideration would reinforce the baseline requirements for VoIP providers seeking or maintaining direct access to numbers. Although full details have not yet been released, the FCC signaled it wants to ensure these providers implement more robust protections to prevent illegal robocalling and other abuses tied to number manipulation. On its agenda for the meeting, which will be held December 18, the FCC said:
“The Commission will consider a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen and modernize the Commission’s requirements that all providers of Voice over Internet Protocol service must meet to maintain direct access to telephone numbers and protect consumers from illegal robocalling. The Commission would seek comment on ways to further bolster numbering resource protections as bad actors continue to seek new and creative methods for exploiting consumers and causing harm.”
Back in October, the FCC voted on a rule that would provide consumers with more verified information about who was calling them by requiring voice providers to transmit verified caller name information when they authenticate a call as legitimate, mandating that carriers mark and disclose calls originating from outside the U.S., and blocking use of U.S. area codes for overseas-originated traffic, and seek comment on banning spoofing of U.S. numbers for foreign calls.
Back in August, the FCC removed 1,200 voice service providers
