Call blocking notification options

July 31, 2023

The TRACED Act requires the FCC to issue rules for call blocking notification. The Commission is seeking further input on how to do that. Let’s have a look.

Evolution of rules and standards

The TRACED Act requires the Commission to take action to ensure that robocall blocking services are provided with transparency and effective redress options for both consumers and callers.

The Commission’s Fourth Order on robocalls requires Terminating service providers that block calls to immediately notify callers of such blocking using SIP 607 or 608 on IP networks or ISUP code 21 with cause location “user” on TDM networks.

USTelecom filed a petition for reconsideration in May 2021. They wrote that the industry would not be ready, and providers would have to stop blocking suspicious calls. The Commission granted the petition and allowed SIP 603 to be used as a temporary alternative until the development of a simpler SIP 603+ method would be standardized.

ATIS published ATIS-1000099, a standard for robocall call blocking notification using SIP 603+, in August 2022.

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

In May 2023, the Commission issued its eighth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) to ask for comments on which SIP code(s) to require terminating providers to use for call blocking notification. In the FNPRM, the Commission several questions about 603+ versus 608:

Would either satisfy the TRACED Act requirements?
Advantages/disadvantages of each?
Ease of implementation and implementation deadline?
Costs of each?
Additional steps needed to ensure proper mapping to or from ISPU code 21 when calls transit non-IP networks?
Value to callers of each?

(The FNRPM also explained that the Commission no longer considers SIP 607 to be appropriate to meet this requirement.)

Comments are due August 9, 2023.

Industry feedback

USTelecom has been advocating for SIP 603+. They believe that it satisfies the TRACED Act and would be easier to implement than SIP 608.
In response to a request from the SIP 603+ task force, an association of calling community businesses provided their criteria for evaluating SIP 603+ as an alternative to SIP 608. By our tally, SIP 603+ seems to satisfy their criteria.
In a subsequent announcement, a group of associations representing lawful high-volume callers tentatively endorsed SIP 603+ pending testing.

We believe that SIP 603+ would accommodate the information suitable for redress and would be simpler, easier, and less expensive to implement.

TransNexus solutions

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