FCC Provides Guidance For Voice Service Providers Seeking An Exemption From Caller ID Authentication Rules – Deadline Is December 1st

November 9, 2020 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released a Public Notice which provides guidance for voice service providers that plan to seek an exemption from the FCC’s caller ID authentication rules.[1] Voice service providers may seek an exemption for their Internet Protocol (IP) networks, non-IP networks, or both.

To seek an exemption, voice service providers must electronically file all required certification materials with the FCC no later than December 1, 2020. These are described below. The Bureau will review the certifications and issue a list of parties that receive an exemption on or before December 30, 2020.

However, the FCC must first obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the certification process. It is doing so now. When OMB approval is received, the Wireline Bureau will publish a notice in the Federal Register, making the caller ID authentication exemption certification rule effective.

STIR/SHAKEN Caller ID Authentication

On December 30, 2019, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement And Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) was signed into law. Among other things, it was passed to speed the “adoption of technical solutions for blocking illegal robocalls.”[2] More specifically, the TRACED Act directs the FCC to require voice service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework in IP networks. STIR/SHAKEN is an industry-developed call-authentication protocol that provides a standards-based means for an originating provider to assert a calling number’s legitimacy, and provides a means for terminating providers to verify that the assertion itself is legitimate and trace the call back to its network entry point.[3] In other words, STIR/SHAKEN “allows voice service providers to verify that the caller ID information transmitted with a particular call matches the caller’s number.”[4]

In March 2020, the FCC released the First Caller ID Authentication Report and Order, in which it required all voice service providers implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication framework in the IP portions of their networks by June 30, 2021.[5] For “small-sized” voice service providers, the FCC has delayed the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN to IP networks for two years. Small is defined as having no more than 100,000 total subscribers. These small voice service providers are not required to fully implement the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework in their IP networks until July 1, 2023.

In late September 2020, the FCC approved requirements for voice service providers to work toward caller ID authentication with respect to the non-IP portions of their networks, and adopted exemptions from its caller ID authentication requirements for providers that could demonstrate early implementation of caller ID technology.[6]

Under the TRACED Act, there are two exemptions from the STIR/SHAKEN implementation requirement: one for IP calls (IP networks) and one for non-IP calls (non-IP networks).

Exemption Criteria For IP Networks

To receive an exemption for its IP networks, a voice service provider must fulfill each of the following:

1. Have completed the network preparations necessary to deploy the STIR/SHAKEN protocols on its network including, but not limited to, by participating in test beds and lab testing, or completing commensurate network adjustments to enable the authentication and validation of calls on its network consistent with the STIR/SHAKEN framework;

2. Have demonstrated its voluntary agreement to participate with other voice service providers in the STIR/SHAKEN framework by completing formal registration (including payment) and testing with the Policy Administrator;

3. Have completed the necessary network upgrades to at last one network element (e.g., a single switch or session border controller) to enable the authentication and verification of caller ID information consistent with the STIR/SHAKEN standards; and

4. Reasonably foresee that it will have completed all necessary network upgrades to its network infrastructure to be able to authenticate and verify caller ID information for all SIP calls exchanged with STIR/SHAKEN-enabled partners by June 30, 2021.

Exemption Criteria For Non-IP Networks

To receive an exemption for its non-IP networks, a voice service provider must fulfill each of the following:

1. Be working to develop a non-IP authentication solution; and

2. Reasonably foresee that it will have completed all necessary network upgrades to its infrastructure to be able to authenticate and verify caller ID information for all non-IP calls originating or terminating on its network as provided by a standardized caller ID authentication framework for non-IP networks.

How To Request An Exemption – Materials & Filing Process

The Wireline Bureau’s Public Notice lays out the following requirements for submitting a request for an exemption:

Each voice service provider that seeks to qualify for an exemption will be required to submit one certification that the company meets the stated criteria for the IP networks exemption, non-IP networks exemption, or both exemptions.

An officer of the voice service provider seeking an exemption will be required to sign the certification stating under penalty of perjury that the officer has personal knowledge that the company meets each criterion.

Each voice service provider seeking an exemption will be required to submit an accompanying statement explaining, in detail, how the company meets each of the prongs of each applicable exemption so that the FCC can verify the accuracy of the certification.

All certifications and supporting statements must be filed electronically in WC Docket No. 20-68, Exemption from Caller ID Authentication Requirements, in the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), no later than December 1, 2020.

Filers will be able to request that any materials or information submitted to the FCC in their certification be withheld from public inspection pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 0.459 of the FCC’s rules.

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[1] Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Directions And Filing Information Regarding Caller ID Authentication Exemption Certifications, WC Docket No. 20-68, Public Notice, DA 20-1334 (Nov. 9, 2020), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-1334A1.pdf.

[2] S. Rep No 116-41, at 1 (May 21, 2019). The TRACED Act also is intended to help reduce illegal and unwanted robocalls by improving the ability of the FCC and law enforcement to impose additional penalties for intentional violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and convenes a Federal interagency working group to combat the dramatic rise in robocalls.

[3] Id. at 5.

[4] Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Implementation of TRACED Act Section 6(a)—Knowledge of Customers by Entities with Access to Numbering Resources, WC Docket No. 20-67, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 20-32, ¶ 2 (Mar. 31, 2020) (First Report And Order), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-42A1.pdf.

[5] Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Implementation of TRACED Act Section 6(a)—Knowledge of Customers by Entities with Access to Numbering Resources, WC Docket No. 20-67, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 20-32, 35 FCC Rcd 3241, ¶ 3 (Mar. 31, 2020), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-42A1.pdf.

[6] Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Second Report And Order, FCC 20-136 (rel. Oct. 1, 2020), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-136A1.pdf.