Avoiding A Robocall 'Wash Out:' The Path To A Holistic STIR/SHAKEN Ecosystem
RCRWirelessNews, Thursday, February 6th, 2025
Americans received 68 billion unwanted robocalls in 2024. While that figure may seem substantial, significant progress has been made in the fight against robocall bad actors: 2024's total unwanted robocall volume is down nearly 60% from the pre-pandemic high of 106.9 billion in 2019.
This improvement in robocall mitigation is primarily due to STIR/SHAKEN, a set of call authentication protocols introduced via the TRACED Act and adopted by the FCC. STIR/SHAKEN requires carriers to authenticate their traffic by signing it, enabling trace-back functionality - a critical element that identifies the origins of unwanted robocalls.
However, non-top carriers face a myriad of challenges that tier-1 providers do not; notably financial and operational constraints slowing their pace of network transformation away from legacy TDM equipment.