news & events

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Forum, a group that works directly with service providers and equipment vendors to develop the best practices for deploying the SIP-based framework end to end in the United States, has elected iconectiv’s CTO Chris Drake to its Board of Directors alongside industry leaders from AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Microsoft. As a member of the Board of Directors, Drake will help provide guidance and overall governance of all SIP Forum operations.

Telecommunications services like calls and messages are fundamental to everyday existence, and service providers heavily depend on the availability of affordable and interoperable technologies to meet customer expectations for reliability. The Global System Mobile Association (GSMA) launched a new process for the governance and approval of industry specifications, including the creation of the Industry Specifications Approving Group (ISAG) as the oversight and approval body for all industry specification work. iconectiv’s CTO Chris Drake has been appointed as one of a limited number of non-service provider members of the group. The ISAG consists of senior representatives of the industry and includes service provider and non-service provider GSMA members.

One-ring wangiri fraud is a global scourge that’s increased 300 percent over the past few years. Under an FCC Report and Order effective Feb. 12, 2021, U.S. service providers may block calls from telephone numbers that are highly likely to be associated with one-ring robocall scams if they use reasonable analytics in deciding which telephone numbers to block. iconectiv TruNumber Protect gives service providers a cost-effective way to proactively protect their customers by providing essential information for accurately targeting the originators of one-ring and other robocalling scams.

iconectiv’s Chief Product Officer Michael O’Brien has been appointed to the CTIA Wireless Foundation Board of Directors. As a board member, O’Brien will provide counsel on the direction of the organization and its programs, helping ensure the foundation has the resources to maintain its mission, strategy and goals. An organization committed to supporting the positive social impact of wireless technology, the foundation supports social entrepreneurship through programs for nonprofit and mission-driven enterprises that have big ideas and proven solutions that use wireless technology for the common good.

In 2019, Americans received more than 58 billion robocalls and 4.5 billion spam text messages according to industry reports, demonstrating the need for the industry to implement a verification strategy across voice, text and digital communication channels to increase trust. Re-establishing trust was the focus of two recent executive panels presented by the Network Media Group (NMG). Featuring experts from iconectiv, Verizon and GSMA, the sessions explore what communication service providers, regulators and enterprises can do to establish a unified verification process.

Rich Business Messaging powered by Rich Communication Services (RCS) has the potential to create a relationship with consumers that are both virtual and uniquely personal, but for companies to realize the benefits, consumer trust must be inherent from the start. In this GSMA webinar, iconectiv’s Chief Product Officer Michael O’Brien will explore the positive financial and reputational impact that RCS can have on a company’s business messaging strategy.

In addition to weeding out illegal robocalls and spam, the STIR/SHAKEN framework can be leveraged to help restore call-answer rates for legitimate businesses. At SIPNOC 2020, iconectiv experts will join other industry leaders to provide actionable advice and best practices for enabling the highest level of caller verification and supporting the security of the next-generation of communications technology.