By Ryan Tracy
WASHINGTON -- The nation's largest wireless carriers are
lobbying to delay a new regulation on robocalls aimed at overseas
scammers who make them, citing concerns that the rule could end up
blocking legitimate calls.
The Federal Communications Commission rule, set to take effect
Sept. 28, would require foreign-based phone companies to step up
efforts to fight illegal robocalls or risk being blocked from
sending calls to the U.S.
Many of the billions of robocalls annoying Americans emanate
from India, the Philippines and other countries. FCC officials say
the regulation, known as the foreign provider prohibition, would
allow them to better trace the sources of illegal calls and block
companies that carry them.
The nation's largest telecoms -- AT&T Inc., Verizon
Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. -- say they support
measures aimed at stemming illegal robocalls, but that the
foreign-provider prohibition as written could have unintended
negative consequences.
They say foreign-based phone companies aren't prepared for the
rule, which could lead to legitimate calls being blocked because
U.S. carriers aren't allowed to accept calls from companies that
aren't in compliance.
For example, if an American customer travels to India and calls
home with her mobile phone, the call might not go through if the
local Indian phone company isn't in good standing with the FCC.
CTIA, a trade group representing Verizon, AT&T, and
T-Mobile, petitioned the FCC to delay implementation in December
and said the foreign provider prohibition "lacks sufficient
support" under the Administrative Procedure Act. Executives have
since been calling FCC staff to make their case for a delay, FCC
records show.
"We strongly support the direction the FCC is going to address
the foreign robocall problem, to police the edge of the U.S.
telephone network," Verizon associate general counsel Christopher
Oatway said in an interview. "We would like to pause the process,
reexamine what needs to be done and continue to work on ways to
create effective barriers to these incessant calls."
George Slover, senior policy counsel with Consumer Reports, a
nonprofit that reviews products and advocates for consumers, said
it is important that the rules don't affect Americans' legitimate
calls, but the FCC shouldn't delay too long.
"A slight pause could be helpful" to address unintended
consequences, he said. "If the foreign providers aren't making
every effort to complete and certify compliance, there needs to be
consequences for that."
In comments to the FCC, the only person to counter the telecoms'
delay request was David Frankel, chief executive of ZipDX LLC, a
Utah-based conference call provider.
Mr. Frankel, who helped develop an industry robocall tracing
program, conceded that the program might inconvenience some
Americans traveling abroad. But he said those whose calls are
blocked have other methods at their disposal, such as a wifi call,
text or calling from a hotel or office.
"How many Americans are overseas in circumstances where they are
trying to call home this way, versus how many people are being
bombarded with these illegal calls?" he asked.
The wireless giants declined to say how many customers might be
affected by the rule. A CTIA spokesman said the group's focus "is
on working with the FCC to help clarify the scope and
implementation."
AT&T and T-Mobile declined to comment. Other companies have
written to the FCC backing the wireless giants.
The FCC declined to comment. It isn't required to respond to the
industry's pending petition.
The foreign provider prohibition is part of a broader agenda to
plug the robocall deluge. Like other anti-robocall moves, it cuts
against history.
The telephone network was set up to ensure calls go through no
matter what. Now the industry and regulators are trying to cut off
illegal calls before they ring.
The FCC has empowered companies to block suspected illegal
calls, mandated caller ID authentication and threatened to shut
down small companies facilitating illegal calls. Big wireless
companies generally cheered these moves.
The foreign provider prohibition would extend the fight beyond
U.S. borders. It requires any phone company that wants to send a
call to the U.S. bearing a U.S. number to first register with the
FCC and certify that it has taken "specific reasonable steps" to
mitigate illegal calls.
Once registered, the company's name will go into an FCC
database. U.S. phone companies may only accept calls from companies
in the database.
In effect, the FCC is creating leverage for itself to police
overseas phone companies. If one of them is found to be sending
illegal calls, the FCC could remove the company's name from the
database, which would mean U.S. companies have to stop accepting
the company's calls.
Some in the industry call this framework a "chain of trust,"
where each company that touches a phone call is agreeing to watch
out for scams. If the chain only includes U.S. companies, that
"would ignore a majority of the worst illegal robocall traffic
ravaging U.S. consumers," Verizon told the FCC in a May 2020
letter.
Now the wireless giants say the chain of trust isn't ready for
prime time. AT&T said that as of February, it had attempted to
contact more than 50 foreign carriers, and one intended to
register. That could lead to problems with international calls, a
source of revenue for U.S. carriers.
In an April 13 meeting with FCC staff, executives from AT&T
and Verizon raised another argument. The foreign provider
prohibition has a potential loophole, they said, because it applies
only to companies who send calls to the U.S. directly. If a company
instead sent the call through a middleman, it could get around the
rule.
"This would be a breakdown of the chain of trust," executives
told the staff, according to a letter to the FCC summarizing the
meeting.
Mr. Frankel, CEO of the Utah telecom company, said problems with
the rule should be worked out without delaying its impact.
"We have this rampant illegal robocall problem in this country,
which has been festering and ongoing," he said. "For the
telecommunications carriers in this country to say, 'Let's press
the pause button and kick the can'...I said, 'No!' "
Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 09, 2021 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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