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press release

Toll-Free Calls to Benefit from Nation’s Robocall Mitigation Efforts

May 12, 2022

iconectiv is the first RespOrg to join country’s SHAKEN ecosystem

  • What’s the News: As part of its new policy, the Secure Telephony Identity Governance Authority (STI-GA) has approved iconectiv as a responsible organization (RespOrg), allowing it to verify the identity of the businesses and contact center operators authorized to use toll-free telephone numbers on our RespOrg. This helps ensure that they receive the highest level of attestation under the STIR/SHAKEN framework, which can help maximize call-answer rates by having verified caller information presented correctly to the recipient.
  • Why it Matters: Industry initiatives such as STIR/SHAKEN are rebuilding consumer confidence in voice calls. As a RespOrg, iconectiv now can help verify the identity of the businesses and contact center operators authorized to use toll-free telephone numbers on our RespOrg to help ensure that their outbound calls are not mistakenly flagged as spam. 
  • Who is it for: The policy change can help businesses or contact centers that use toll-free numbers for outbound calling.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J – May 12, 2022 – With the lion’s share of consumers (86%) associating businesses with a toll-free number as higher quality companies, it is paramount to protect the integrity of these trusted numbers. Fortunately, with the most recent advancement in the nation’s robocall mitigation efforts, telephone calls made from toll-free numbers are now eligible to be included in the nation’s Calling Number Verification Service.

As a leader in ensuring communications can be trusted, iconectiv is the first company in the U.S. to be approved as an authorized RespOrg in this service, which is based on the Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN) framework. This allows iconectiv to cryptographically sign outbound toll-free calls for those businesses and contact center operators authorized to use toll-free telephone numbers on our RespOrg.

Developed by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and SIP Forum, SHAKEN allows voice calls to receive the correct level of attestation and call treatment, which can help increase call-answer rates. Through the service, service providers and RespOrgs can cryptographically sign and verify calling party information, ultimately providing their customers with verified Caller ID information. In the first three months after this industry-wide solution to mitigate illegal robocalls was implemented, illegal robocalls decreased 29%.

Now, under the new ATIS policy, toll-free numbers can be part of the country’s SHAKEN-based Calling Number Verification Service. This means that legitimate organizations that rely on toll-free numbers to reach people now have a new way to combat illegal robocallers and other fraudsters looking to corrupt this important channel.

iconectiv TruReach Toll-Free 8MS integrates with the national toll-free number registry and currently manages and provisions over 75% of all the toll-free numbers in North America. As an authorized RespOrg, TruReach Toll-Free 8MS customers that have their toll-free numbers on iconectiv’s RespOrg for outbound calls, will now benefit by having verified caller ID information presented to the recipient.

“Hospitals, schools and other legitimate organizations need and deserve to have their calls receive the highest level of trust that the STIR/SHAKEN era can provide,” said Richard Jacowleff, iconectiv CEO. “As a RespOrg, iconectiv can provide those organizations with new options for ensuring that service providers and consumers can confidently continue to view calls from toll-free numbers as trustworthy.

“And, since some of our customers are RespOrgs themselves, we can provide them with additional value-add by helping them navigate the application process to also become approved RespOrgs in the SHAKEN ecosystem,” Jacowleff added. “In doing so, they, too, can extend these robocall mitigation benefits to their customers. Bottom line: every legitimate call that is answered is another victory in the war on illegal robocalls.”