FCC taking action over Robocalls to Cellphones

Faced with mounting public pressure to take action against robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to make it easier for telecom companies to block suspected scam calls on their customers’ behalf.
Companies like AT&T and Verizon can now, under the newly approved rules, automatically enroll their customers in their call-blocking services. Currently, customers have to sign up for the tools.
The FCC said this action empowers providers to protect their customers from unwanted robocalls before those calls even reach the customers’ phones.
The FCC said the move would lead to consumers receiving fewer unwanted calls.
Wireless companies have until the end of the year adopt robocall blocking technology.
Just because the FCC has passed this does not mean the calls will stop, however. The industry’s solution – authentication technology called STIR/SHAKEN that verifies that calls come from real caller ID instead of spoofed or faked caller ID – isn’t set to go into widespread effect until 2020, though companies are testing it and using it now. Until then, phone companies will have to use other means of identifying unwanted calls.
No word yet on whether there will be an extra charge on your bill.