STIR/SHAKEN statistics from December 2022

Some long-running STIR/SHAKEN trends showed signs of change in December. Let’s have a look.

Many Robocalls are signed with B or C attestation

Calls Signed with B or C Were Over 3.5 Times More Likely to be Robocalls

Figure 1. Robocall % by Verification Status in December 2022

Figure 1 compares the percentage of robocalls by attestation level, for unsigned calls, and for all calls in December 2022.

The red line shows the robocall percentage for all calls, which was 8.35%. Robocalls were 7.79% of unsigned calls. We continue to see a significant number of robocalls among calls signed with either a B or C attestation—more than 3.5 times the percentage of robocalls among unsigned calls.

Signed Robocalls Up in December

Figure 2. Signed Robocalls by Attestation Last 6 Months

Figure 2 shows this trend over the past six months. Robocalls signed with B attestation were up 5.31% from November. Robocalls signed with C attestation were up 1.8% in December.

SHAKEN participation continues to level off

We measure STIR/SHAKEN participation changes in three ways:

1. The number of Originating Service Providers (OSPs) signing calls received by our customers
2. The number of service providers authorized to do SHAKEN by the STI Policy Administrator (STI-PA)
3. The number of new certification filings in the Robocall Mitigation Database

SHAKEN Participation Leveling

Figure 3. Monthly Number of OSPs Sending Signed Calls

Figure 3 shows that the number of Originating Service Providers (OSPs) signing calls decreased slightly from 511 in November to 507 in December, a drop of 0.8% increase. This follows a 2.4% increase in November.

SHAKEN Authorized Providers Increases Slightly

Figure 4. STIR/SHAKEN Authorized Providers by Month

Figure 4 shows that the number of SHAKEN authorized providers increased by 1.4% in December, from 795 to 806. This follows a 0.5% increase in November.

New Robocall Mitigation Database Filings Slump

Figure 5. New Robocalls Mitigation Database Filings by Month

Figure 5 shows that new Robocall Mitigation Filings slumped to 30 in December, a 37.5% drop from November.

Few calls reach their destination signed

Despite monthly increases in STIR/SHAKEN participation across 2022, we did not see an increase in the percentage of signed calls received at termination for most of the year.

Most Calls Arrive Unsigned

Figure 6. Percentage of Calls by Verification Status

Figure 6 shows that 73.84% of calls received for termination were unsigned, down slightly from November, when 75.46% of calls were unsigned.

Percentage of Signed Calls at Termination Up Slightly

Figure 7. The Percentage of Signed Calls at Termination Last 6 Months

Figure 7 shows that the percentage of signed calls at termination was 26.16%, a 1.63% increase from 24.54% in November. This is a welcome improvement. The percentage of signed calls has been stuck around 24% since August 2021, despite the steady increase in Originating Service Providers and SHAKEN authorized providers signing calls at origination. It’s great to see this pick up a bit.

Few calls receive a full attestation

STIR/SHAKEN is most useful when call signers have an authenticated relationship with the caller and calling number. This enables the originator to sign the call with full A-level attestation. This makes call analytics by downstream providers much more useful.

Few Calls Are Signed with Full Attestation

Figure 8. Percentage of Calls with SHAKEN Attestation Levels Last 6 Months

The percentage of calls signed with full attestation was around 20% at the start of 2022. It gradually declined through the first half of 2022, reaching 15.33% in August. Figure 8 shows that it improved slightly in December to 17.06%, up from 16.21% in November.

What these statistics tell us

1. Signed robocalls continue, as robocall-friendly providers have their calls signed by downstream third-party signers using their own SHAKEN certificate. There are no enforcement consequences—so far.
2. For over a year, we’ve seen a gradual improvement in SHAKEN participation yet no improvement in the percentage of signed calls. These trends have flipped—now we see participation plateau while the percentage of signed calls gradually improves.
   1. We expect another surge in participation during the first half of 2023 as SHAKEN extensions expire and mandates kick in.
3. After a disappointing drop in full A-level attestation during the first half of 2022, this has started to improve again late in the year.

TransNexus solutions

TransNexus is a leader in developing innovative software to manage and protect telecommunications networks. The company has over 20 years’ experience in providing telecom software solutions including toll fraud prevention, robocall mitigation and prevention, TDoS prevention, analytics, routing, billing support, STIR/SHAKEN and SHAKEN certificate services.

Contact us today to learn more.