Smaller carriers successfully increased the total volume of signed call traffic in the first half of the year: 30 percent of call traffic between non-top seven carriers is now signed and verified with STIR/SHAKEN protocols, up from 22% in 2023. However, Transaction Network Services’ (TNS) Half Year 2024 Robocall Investigation Report, released today, also finds that network interconnectivity challenges are blunting the full benefits STIR/SHAKEN can deliver to consumers and businesses, while bad actors are increasingly leveraging AI to launch robocall attacks.
The TNS report, a data-driven analysis of robocall trends, suggests a critical transition period is underway for carriers, regulators, and other telco stakeholders committed to supporting smaller carrier digital transformation efforts, combating increasingly sophisticated AI-powered deepfake scams, and protecting voters from robocall disinformation campaigns leading into the 2024 US Presidential election.
“The fact that three-quarters of total call traffic is signed and 85% of all calls between tier-1 operators are signed speaks to how far carriers of all sizes have come with STIR/SHAKEN and protecting subscribers,” said Denny Randolph, President of TNS Communications Market. “Still, there is more work to be done: SIP interconnectivity issues mean that smaller carriers doing all the right things with STIR/SHAKEN and call signing aren’t yet experiencing the full value of those investments.”
To drive further call signing and authentication gains, there are tangible steps telco stakeholders can explore to address legacy network interconnectivity issues:
- Regulators. Continuing to enable smaller carrier SIP network transitions and interconnection is vital. There is also a need to acknowledge the budget challenges smaller carriers face in undertaking digital transformation efforts. TNS’ Robocall Report data affirms that increasing termination call signing will benefit from advancing industry solutions that deliver ubiquitous connectivity so non-tier-1 carriers can reach thousands of networks without having to peer with each one individually.
- Smaller Carriers. Smaller carriers can expand their SIP interconnectivity and mitigate the impact of SIP breakage by deploying solutions like Call Guardian Authentication Hub (CGAH) and IP Voice Transit services, which allow them to tap into advanced call mitigation solutions (Branded Calling, Caller ID, etc.) and bypass connectivity challenges with SIP to SIP peering – even if they haven’t fully migrated to IP networks.
- Tier-1 Carriers. TNS Robocall Report data continues to reflect the gains that tier-1 carriers (Verizon, UScellular, T-Mobile, Lumen, Comcast, Charter and AT&T) are making with signed calls and ensuring that call traffic is signed with Attestation “A”. There have been great strides in enabling a trusted ecosystem in which the value of STIR/SHAKEN can be seen. However, there remains value for tier-1 carriers to support closing the remaining interconnectivity gaps so the full benefit of the standard can be realized.
The latest edition of TNS’ Robocall Investigation Report also includes several new robocall insights to inform carriers, regulators, policymakers, and the telecom industry on key trends and developments thus far in 2024 and what might occur in the second half of the year:
Political Disinformation Attempts to Increase Ahead of Election Season
Following the massive volume of political robocalls early in the US election primary season, political robocall activity ebbed due to FCC punitive moves and reduced stakes as Presidential nominations were secured.
However, TNS expects political disinformation attempts – including AI deepfakes – to increase closer to the November US Presidential election. In Q3, bad actors are likely to sow misinformation aligned with key milestone events, including the Republican and Democratic conventions and any future presidential debates.
Americans Must Guard Against AI-Generated Robocalls
Generative AI has supercharged robocalls by replicating the ten qualities of a voice —volume, pace, tone, pitch and enunciation, among others — making scams seem much more realistic.
Americans must be proactive in protecting their voices from being cloned by AI. This means changing their voicemail greetings to an automated tone, creating a family safe word, and embedding secondary safe words in messaging apps like FaceTime and WhatsApp.
To support carrier and business efforts, TNS launched AI Labs to develop new AI solutions that protect Americans from AI robocall scams and lead the fight against bad actors.
To gain access to the latest robocall data trends and insights, and to learn more about the top robocall scams targeting Americans thus far in 2024, download the TNS Half Year 2024 Robocall Investigation Report: tnsi.com/tns-robocall-investigation-report/.
About TNS:
TNS, a market leader in call identification and robocall mitigation, provides an end-to-end ecosystem for protecting and restoring trust in voice calling. TNS addresses the full needs of wireless and wireline operators globally with TNS Call Guardian®, the industry-leading call analytics solution that protects subscribers from high risk and nuisance robocalls. In addition, its Enterprise product suite, including TNS Enterprise Authentication and Spoof Protection and TNS Enterprise Branded Calling, is taking the next step in enriching consumer engagement, making the voice channel an integral part of an omnichannel customer experience program. TNS analyzes over 1.5 billion call events across more than 500 operators every single day, enabling enterprises to protect their brand and consumers, and carriers to identify more unwanted robocalls. For additional information visit: https://tnsi.com/resource-center/communications/.
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