WTA Files Reply Comments on SHAKEN/STIR NOI

In its reply comments, filed today in response to the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry on caller ID authentication for non-IP network, reiterate its support for termination of the continuing extension for STIR/SHAKEN compliance by non-IP networks. WTA states that “the most efficient and effective way to implement nationwide STIR/SHAKEN, as well as to ensure uniform nationwide voice service quality, is to complete the ongoing transition to an all-IP voice network.”

WTA also warns against the “working group options” advanced by Verizon and USTelecom in that they are not “consensus” proposals but rather are opposed by many of the small voice service providers on whom they are intended to be imposed. Among other defects, these “options” constitute transparent attempts to evade the TDM access tandem issues; appear to require smaller carriers to accept substandard service on existing facilities via an “arrangement” that the larger carriers themselves do not intend to use; contain no indication that the “options” will actually work but rather require at least another year of delay for study and discussion; require smaller carriers to engage in substantial commercial negotiations before the “options” can be implemented; pose the danger of higher transport costs that are likely to require smaller providers to increase their voice service rates; and gloss over “security concerns” with respect to the “options.”