Carriers Can Auto-Block Unwanted Calls – Now What?

Earlier this month, the FCC voted to let phone carriers block unwanted robocalls by default – customers can now be signed up for blocking services automatically and “opt-out” if they so choose. We wrote about the ruling a few weeks ago if you want to catch up.

But now what?

With the increased emphasis on STIR/SHAKEN and TRACED around Washington, companies that rely on calling to reach current and potential customers may be wondering how they’re going to survive when the FCC is handing consumers a ban hammer. While the industry shakes out the kinks with all of their new mandates, many legitimate calls might be incorrectly blocked if they’re not handled correctly.

At First Orion, we’ve always worked on the robocall and scam protection problem from both sides; our aim is to create solutions that work for both consumers and businesses. After all, not all robocalls are created equally. According to our research, while 58% of people don’t believe there is such a thing as a “good” robocall, most welcome an automated call from their pharmacy or child’s school.

Whether they’re wanted or not, robocalls have lead to a bit of an epidemic in call marketing. Nearly 84% of all calls go unanswered, which has led to growing frustrations for both consumers and businesses. In the US alone, we estimate businesses make over 8 BILLION legitimate calls per month to customers.

The next logical step for businesses and carriers is to start making it clear who is calling – which is where our calling solution Engage comes in. With Engage, businesses can reach their consumers with absolute certainty that they’ll know who is calling and why. By 2020, we predict that verified and branded calls will be the only business calls consumers answer. Engage uses media-rich branding to identify calls, making it easier than ever for consumers to know it’s safe to pick up. Engage from First Orion provices call verification and consent for both consumers and enterprises. Engage is the answer to providing trusted communications and alleviates concerns around upcoming call blocking and opt-in legislation.

But we’re not stopping there. STIR/SHAKEN is a great start to identifying and weeding out fraudlently spoofed numbers, but it’s not the end-all-be-all solution. First Orion aims to counter business number spoofing with the very first commercial Do Not Originate (DNO) Registry within our call management service, Call Transparency (“The Registry“). The DNO feature allows new and existing business registrants to designate their inbound-only lines as such, so any outbound calls made from those lines will be tagged “Scam Likely”.

The way businesses call customers will continue to change and evolve as legislation to correct unwanted calls do. First Orion solutions are designed with that in mind, to work in tandem with FCC guidelines and rulings. If your business makes a large number of calls each year to consumers, we can help you make them efficiently – and legally. For more information on our Engage and Call Transparency solutions, contact us here.