[VoiceOps] STIR/SHAKEN - Robocall Mitigation Plan

[Mary Lou Carey]

I've had several people ask some great questions about the Robocall 
Mitigation plan since I sent out my last e-mail so I just wanted to 
clarify who needs to file a Robocall Mitigation plan by June 30, 2021.

All companies that sell or resell voice services of any type (VOIP, TDM, 
Wireless) OR any company that has an end user customer they provide DIDs 
to are considered telecom carriers. It does NOT matter if you use 
upstream providers or not. It does not matter if you use another 
carrier's certificate or not! If you provide DIDs to a paying customer 
for any reason you are considered a telecom carrier so you need to file 
a Robocall Mitigation Plan.

For those of you who aren't familiar with me, you may be wondering why I 
bother to post about this. I've been a Telecom Carrier Consultant for 
the last 21 years and have helped over a hundred carriers (CLECs, ILECs, 
Paging, Satellite, and Wireless) install and maintain their facilities 
based networks. The reason I post information about this is not because 
I don't have enough work to do. It is because over the years I have seen 
certain parties we won't mention do anything and everything they can to 
put the small carriers out of business and I don't want anyone to be 
taken out because they didn't realize they needed to do something to 
comply. I am a firm believer that no company can be everything to 
everyone so there is a place in the world for all carriers that provide 
good services.

I've had people coming to me from the beginning asking for help getting 
their STIR/SHAKEN certificate so I'm very familiar with the process and 
what the upstream carriers are telling their underlying carriers. I'm 
also very familiar with the many changes that have been made to the 
requirements for getting a certificate. It's been confusing for everyone 
involved and especially the mitigation plan because that started out as 
an alternative to getting a certificate but it's turned into something 
that is required of every carrier. So regardless of whether you've 
already turned up STIR/SHAKEN or you're using someone else's 
certificate.......make sure you file your Robocall Mitigation Plan. I am 
not the only consultant helping people get their paperwork done so they 
can qualify for a certificate, so there's no obligation to use my 
services. All I'm saying is that whether you do it on your own or you 
hire someone to help you, make sure you file your Robocall Mitigation 
plan by June 30th. For those of you who are already STIR/SHAKEN 
compliant, it just means you sign in and mark your company as compliant!


MARY LOU CAREY
BackUP Telecom Consulting
Office: 615-791-9969
Cell: 615-796-1111