FCC Calls on Gateway Service Providers to Help Track Robocalls' Origins

Phone companies that allow international robocalls into U.S. networks need to take part in efforts to trace those calls' origins, the FCC said Tuesday. It said Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold wrote gateway service providers All Access, Globex, Piratel, Talkie, Telcast, ThinQ and Third Base, requesting they take part in tracking down the originators of illegal spoofed foreign robocalls. It said the seven "are uniquely situated to assist government and industry efforts to combat scam robocalls." The letters come atop proposed rules Chairman Ajit Pai circulated on Jan. 28 that would establish a registration process for naming a consortium to conduct private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls. Sprint, T-Mobile and Comcast on Tuesday said they had all implemented anti-spoofing technology in parts of their voice networks (see 2002040020).