What you need to know
- T-Mobile and Sprint have joined forces to add call verification between their networks using STIR/SHAKEN.
- Call verification will work across 23 phones, and T-Mobile says it is working on adding more in the future.
- T-Mobile has now implemented STIR/SHAKEN with four networks, including AT&T Comcast Xfinity Voice home phone service, Inteliquent, and Sprint.
T-Mobile and Sprint had a big announcement today, no, it's not that the merger has finally been approved. However, it is still great news for customers on both networks. Beginning on February 4, 2020, the two carriers will start rolling out the STIR/SHAKEN protocol across their networks to help prevent robocalls.
T-Mobile says the technology is supported by 23 phones, and more will be coming soon. Starting today, users with one of the supported phones and the latest software update will see a "Caller Verified" screen when a call is received from a non-spoofed number on the T-Mobile or Sprint network.
Caller ID spoofing is one of the most common tactics used by robocallers, where the spammer will mask their number with a fake one. Often it is used to make the call appear as if it is coming from your area code to trick you into answering.
While all carriers compete fiercely in the marketplace, we all agree that the industry-wide plague of robocalls and scammers must be tackled arm-in-arm with other carriers as we put the latest technology to work to help protect our customers.
Implementing the FCC-recommended STIR/SHAKEN protocol to verify numbers is one of the most important steps carriers can take to help combat unwanted spam calls. However, that requires network providers to team up and work together to make STIR/SHAKEN function between their networks.
With this latest addition, T-Mobile now supports four carriers in total, including AT&T, Comcast Xfinity Voice home phone service, Inteliquent, and Sprint.
