Unified Office, a prominent communication technology company primarily servicing industries such as auto dealerships, restaurants, medical practices, dental clinics, and the hospitality sector, recently addressed a concern regarding the deletion and mislabeling of customer names from the Caller ID field. In a letter addressed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the company also drew attention to the mislabeling of legitimate calls as “Spam Likely,” issues it had previously raised in WC Docket No. 17-97, also known as the Call Authentication Trust Anchor docket.
Representatives from Unified Office, including Raymond Pasquale, Eric Van Ness, Ron Thornton, Tom Phelan, Robert Atkinson, Jeff Pulver, and Glenn S. Richards, conducted a meeting with key staff from FCC’s Consumer and Wireline Bureaus to discuss their concerns. The attendees included Jonathan Lechter, Zachary Ross, Merry Wulff, Jerusha Burnett, Karen Schroeder, Erik Beith, and Connor Ferraro.
During the meeting, Mr. Pasquale shed light on how calls from their customers have been marked as potential spam, leading to mistrust and subsequent non-answering of these calls, damaging legitimate businesses’ branding and reputation. He noted an alarming trend, in which the problem has not only persisted but seemed to be escalating since March 2023.
A key issue identified by Unified Office is the apparent inconsistency in how third-party analytics companies and terminating carriers determine which calls are spam and which are to be re-labeled. The company underscored the lack of a clear process for resolving complaints.
Mr. Pasquale proposed a solution to the problem by suggesting that the customer’s name and not the telephone number should be the “de facto” trusted standard of Caller ID. He emphasized the need for restoring trust in the public phone network and recommended that as part of the STIR/SHAKEN attestation process, customer names (or Rich Call Data when available) should also be authenticated by the originating service provider. He proposed that once authenticated and attested, transit and terminating carriers should be prohibited from altering the name in the Caller ID field.
In addition, he advocated for an alert system, whereby if authenticated calls are labeled as spam, the originating service provider should be notified and given an opportunity to rectify erroneous spam labeling or resolve the issue with its customer. Pasquale also suggested that originating carriers that abuse this process risk losing their STIR/SHAKEN certification.
Unified Office presented a comprehensive report to illustrate the effects of mislabeling on legitimate calls, outlining how businesses and their reputations have been damaged as a result. The company emphasized that trust in the public phone network has been eroded, contrary to the goals of the Stir/Shaken protocol, and pointed out inconsistencies in the labeling of calls by terminating carriers.
To resolve the issue, Unified Office suggested amending the Stir/Shaken protocol to include end-to-end customer name verification and authentication, along with phone number authentication. The company also outlined a series of implementation steps for this proposed remedy, including acquiring a digital certificate from Neustar, attesting and signing both the number and the name, preserving customer name, and providing reason codes and feedback loops.
The letter submitted by Unified Office is a crucial step in addressing the problem of call mislabeling and spam detection, one that could have significant implications for the communications industry. As more businesses become aware of this issue, it will be interesting to see how the FCC and other relevant bodies respond.
Aside from his role as CEO of TMC and chairman of ITEXPO, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Four Points) (Member FINRA/SIPC). RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.
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