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iconectiv Toll-Free-Number Expert Mike Gilbert Elected ATIS SNAC Co-Chair

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Apr 21, 2022
  • What’s the News: As co-chair of the ATIS SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC), iconectiv Senior Account Director Mike Gilbert will oversee key toll-free number industry initiatives such as ensuring consumer trust in voice calls and text messaging.
  • Why it Matters: Years of illegal robocalls, SMS spam and fraud have undermined consumer trust in voice calls and text messages, including those from toll-free numbers. Restoring trust is critical for service providers and all the retailers, schools, healthcare providers and other organizations that depend on toll-free numbers to inform and engage consumers.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J – April 21, 2022 – When consumers interact with a business, odds are high that it will involve a toll-free number. More than 40 million are currently in use by retailers, colleges and other organizations — including vanity numbers such as 1-800-FLOWERS, which have a 44.9% higher recall rate than web addresses.

The SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC) leads industry initiatives involving toll-free numbers, such as enabling text messaging, providing guidance for database administration and advising the FCC. Part of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), SNAC is uniquely positioned to help ensure the integrity of toll-free numbers and their effectiveness as a communications channel.

iconectiv Senior Account Director Mike Gilbert has been named SNAC co-chair for a two-year term. Since 2013, Gilbert has been responsible for TruReach Toll-Free 8MS®, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that over 100 service providers and RespOrgs rely on for provisioning, text enablement, least-cost routing and business continuity.

“For decades, toll-free numbers have consistently been one of the most convenient, effective, trusted and widely used ways that consumers interact with businesses and other organizations,” Gilbert said. “Consumers need to be able to maintain a continued confidence that the organization calling or texting them from a toll-free number really is whom they claim to be and not a fraudster. I look forward to sharing iconectiv’s expertise with SNAC members as we work together to ensure that toll-free numbers remain a trusted communications channel for decades to come.”

Through Gilbert’s leadership, SNAC will additionally benefit from iconectiv’s expertise in mitigating illegal robocalls, SMS phishing (“smishing”), “wangiri” callback schemes and other fraud. This experience includes two major initiatives to restore consumer trust in voice and SMS: serving as U.S. Secure Telephone Identity Policy Administrator (STI-PA) for the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (STIR/SHAKEN) framework and working with CTIA to develop Registered CallerTM.