The robocalling problem just observe getting worse and defective — last class , the Federal Communications Commission order telecommunication administrator tostart doing somethingabout the problem , which one reportin January 2019 count on had exploded to the tune of 26.3 billion robocalls placed to U.S. numbers every year . And not even the people in billing of the nation ’s wireless company are immune , obviously . At anEconomic Club eventin Washington DC on Wednesday , AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson got dialed up , or certainly appeared to , in front of scores of audience members .
TheDallas Morning News reportedStephenson was there in part to bemoan DC bureaucrats who dragged out AT&T ’s $ 85 billionultra - merger with Time Warner(which , to be fair , there is some misgiving wasmore the resultof Donald Trump ’s feud with Time Warner subsidiary CNN ) .
In the clip below post by C - SPAN , Stephenson paused to peek at his Apple Watch , telling the audience : “ I ’m getting a robocall , too … It ’s literally a robocall . ”
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson generate a robocall while onstage at@TheEconomicClub.pic.twitter.com/i5llHj6hz2
— CSPAN ( @cspan)March 20 , 2019
AT&T and rival Comcast actuallyjust announce a partnership(supported by other industry histrion like Verizon , T - Mobile , and Sprint ) specify to test newfangled call authentication technology using cryptanalytic communications protocol name SHAKEN ( Signature - base Handling of Asserted data using token ) and STIR ( Secure Telephone Identity Revisited ) .
According to anAT&T statement , the system should make it harder for robocalls to spoof phone telephone number — a exercise in which the caller-up tricks a telephone connection into showing a fake or fraudulent numeral on the receiving end . A similar system rolled out inlimited usageon T - Mobile in the first place this year , while Sprint will carry out its own testing in the 2nd half of 2019 . Senators John Thune and Ed Markey have alsointroduced legislation(the TRACED Act ) mandate providers of voice service “ follow up an appropriate and effective call authentication framework in the net protocol internet of voice service provider . ”
Given the unearthly timing , it ’s worth wondering whether this was apublicity ploy of some kind . On the other hand , it ’s kind of awkward , given Stephenson maneuver one of the party that allow this problem spiral out of controller . Anecdotally , I can enjoin you there ’s no such thing as a in force time to get one of these thing , and have receive them in the shower , on the subway system , in the middle of other calls , during picture show , and just when I ’m embark on to fall gone .
[ The Verge ]
Apple WatchAT&TPhonesPrivacyrobocallsTechnologyTelecoms
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