Neustar, Bandwidth, and Comcast Conduct Successful STIR/SHAKEN Interoperability Test

Neustar, a global information services and technology company and leader in identity resolution, has partnered with Bandwidth Inc. and Comcast to conduct a cross-industry STIR/SHAKEN interoperability test to showcase enterprises’ ability to authenticate outbound calls and actively participate in the STIR/SHAKEN ecosystem.

STIR/SHAKEN are technology standards that use certificates to digitally sign phone calls, which verify caller identity and prevent spoofing. Today, only the Originating Service Provider (OSP) can sign calls to determine a call’s attestation level. However, when enterprise calls receive an attestation below the highest level (A) – usually because of how they source their phone numbers – they may be blocked or marked as spam on a consumer’s device.

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The collaboration began by testing each network’s independent implementation for the use of certificate delegation to allow an enterprise to directly sign calls that have been verified by the OSP and given full attestation. Authenticating calls enables enterprises to overcome the “attestation gap” and increases answer rates. Working closely with service providers to authenticate calls also enables vetting of enterprise customers and branded calling to include Rich Call Data (RCD) such as logo, name, reason for the call, etc., on the consumer’s mobile display.

David Preo, Product Manager, Voice Services at Bandwidth says, “Bandwidth’s customers are deeply concerned that partial attestation may lead to blocking of their legitimate traffic and loss of revenue. The successful completion of this proof-of-concept testing with Comcast using Neustar’s Certified Caller solution accelerates options for enterprises to take control of their call authentication with Rich Call Data and certificate delegation services.”

“As we continue to evolve the technologies surrounding STIR/SHAKEN, we’re delivering tools that have the potential to protect consumers and dramatically increase trust in the global voice communications ecosystem,” said Chris Wendt, director of technical research and development, IP Communications Services, at Comcast Cable. “The collaboration with Neustar and Bandwidth shows the business and consumer benefits of industry innovation through interoperable standards-based implementations.”

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“The ability for enterprises to sign their own calls is a game changer, but it doesn’t stop there. We all need to work together to ensure that enterprise authentication can traverse multiple carriers and impact the display on as many devices as possible,” said James Garvert, senior vice president and general manager of Caller Identification Solutions at Neustar. “This partnership symbolizes the collaboration that is needed across the calling ecosystem to enable service providers and enterprises to develop creative solutions for combatting robocalls and call spoofing, to bring trust back to the phone channel.”

Rich Call Data gives customers a reason to answer.

Research shows that enterprises leveraging branded calling gives customers a reason to answer and can improve outbound call answer rates by over 56 percent. The ability to authenticate calls and add data not only helps enterprises get their calls through, but also protects their brand. It ensures outbound calls are:

• Verified: Signals that a business and the phone numbers that it uses have been vetted, so its identity is legitimate.
• Authenticated: Uses digital certificates known as STIR/SHAKEN to sign and certify that the caller ID has not been compromised.
• Branded: Shows the brand’s logo or identity, which helps aid recognition and recall.
• Contextual: Gives the user the information they need, including the reason the business is calling.

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