September 30, 2020
Background: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted two items from its September open meeting agenda: (1) a Report and Order to continue implementation of the TRACED Act and deployment of caller ID authentication technology to combat spoofed robocalls; (2) a Report and Order to improve the transparency and timeliness of the foreign ownership review process.
The following statements can be attributed to USTelecom president and CEO Jonathan Spalter:
Promoting Caller ID Authentication to Combat Spoofed Robocalls
“This is more quick and deliberate work by the FCC to implement the TRACED Act to combat illegal robocall spoofing and restore trust in our caller ID system. Through the Industry Traceback Group and across our membership, USTelecom is a champion for ubiquitous deployment of the STIR/SHAKEN call authentication protocol. This order gets us closer to that goal and adds another important tool to the growing traceback, consumer app and government enforcement regime attacking this problem every day.”
Improving Transparency and Timeliness of the Foreign Ownership Review Process
“As the Commission rightly scrutinizes certain foreign ownership transactions for national security, law enforcement and trade concerns, today’s action will help provide certainty in the process and appropriately limit regulatory and administrative burdens for run of the mill transactions. This order keeps Team Telecom resources directed squarely on its mission – identifying and evaluating foreign threats to our network services and infrastructure. The Commission should use its discretion to implement its reforms immediately in order to make the review process more efficient for applicants and Team Telecom.”