OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has given Canada's telcos exactly 12 months to implement a universal network-level call blocking system to help cut down on the number of unsolicited and illegitimate calls that Canadians receive.
The Commission said Wednesday that such a system will automatically block calls with caller ID information that either exceeds 15 digits or does not conform to a number that can be dialled, such as 000-000-0000. Telecom service providers who are already offering advanced call-filtering services to their subscribers are not obligated to implement the system.
Noting that no single solution can help Canadians block all unwanted calls, the CRTC said that this decision is part of “a multi-pronged approach to fight nuisance calls” that also includes call filtering, caller authentication and validation, and industry-wide call traceback.
CRTC 2018-484 also includes the CRTC’s findings for mitigation, notification, disclosure, redress, and monitoring approaches related to the implementation of universal network-level call blocking.
“The CRTC is taking a variety of actions to tackle nuisance calls”, said CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott, in a statement. “We are confident that this latest decision will help reduce the number of illegitimate calls Canadians are forced to deal with regularly. A call-blocking system will provide them with an additional level of protection, while ensuring they continue to receive legitimate calls, and encourage providers to continue their work on this issue.”
