The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced today that it has removed more than 1,200 non-compliant voice service providers from its Robocall Mitigation Database.
The FCC says that the providers “shirk(ed) their responsibility” and broke FCC regulations by failing to maintain accurate Robocall Mitigation Database certifications. The action disconnects the service providers from the U.S. phone network.
“Robocalls are an all-too-common frustration — and threat — to Americans’ households,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in a press release. “The FCC is doing everything in its power to fight back against these malicious and illegal calls. Providers that fail to do their duty when it comes to stopping these calls have no place in our networks. We’re taking action, and we will continue to do so.”
The Robocall Mitigation Database that is used to ensure that service providers have implemented the STIR/SHAKEN, a tool to prevent robocalls, on their networks.
Earlier this month, the FCC removed 185 voice service providers from the database. Those providers were culled from an initial list of 2,411 providers who were ordered to correct — “cure” — their filings or provide a reason why they should not be taken out of the database. Providers can file to be restored to the list only with approval from the FCC’s Enforcement and Wireline Competition bureaus.
The Robocall Mitigation Database was adopted in January. A full list of the service providers whose sanctions were announced today is here.
The impact of disenfranchising so many voice service providers on illegal robocalls remains to be seen, of course. But July was a reasonably good month in the fight, however. YouMail reported that consumers in the United States received 3.1% fewer such calls last month than in June and that it was the third straight month of decline. It wasn’t all good news, however: The amount of such calls was about the same as July 2024.
