OTTAWA — Canadians will soon have access to a call blocking system that better protects them against illegitimate calls. Telecom service providers are required by the CRTC to implement this system within their networks by December 19.
With the implementation of this system, calls with caller ID information that either exceeds 15 digits or does not conform to a number that can be dialled (for example, 000-000-0000) will be blocked before reaching the subscriber, the CRTC explains in a news release issued Tuesday.
Providers that offer their subscribers call filtering services — which provide more advanced call management features — will not have to implement call blocking, the CRTC adds.
“Canadians need to have the right tools to manage nuisance calls. With the implementation of a call blocking system, calls that are malformed will be stopped within the network. At the same time, we are working with the industry on other tools to better protect Canadians from nuisance calls, including a process to alert them when the caller ID has been spoofed,” says Ian Scott, CRTC chairperson and CEO, in the release.
The CRTC is currently working with telecom service providers to authenticate and verify caller ID information and to trace nuisance calls back to their points of origin. Earlier this month, the CRTC announced its joint initiative with the US Federal Communications Commission to have service providers implement by September 2020 the STIR/SHAKEN framework, which enables the authentication and verification of caller ID information for IP-based voice calls.
