CUNA continues FCC engagement over call blocking codes

CUNA and other organizations continue to support to adoption of SIP Code (signaling protocol) 608 to provide notification to callers that a voice service provider has blocked their call using analytics, they wrote to the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday. The FCC permits SIP Code 603 to be used to temporarily, but currently, its use does not differentiate between calls declined and calls blocked.

The letter follows a meeting last week between FCC staff, CUNA, and other organizations.

“During the meeting, the Associations emphasized their continuing support for the adoption of SIP Code 608 to provide immediate notification of analytics-based blocking,” the letter reads.

CUNA and other organizations agreed that SIP Code 603+—an enhanced version that would indicate a call has been blocked by a voice service provider—can be used in the interim if it meets certain criteria. But they also encouraged continued development of SIP Code 608.

“We have been informed that standards-setting bodies are advancing a 603+ standard and have prioritized its completion ahead of the 608 standard—even though the Commission has not approved 603+ as a permanent solution, and despite the Commission’s expectation that development of 608 proceed with all deliberate speed,” the letter reads.

“The Associations continue to believe, consistent with past submissions, that SIP Code 608 remains the most effective means to provide timely, actionable notification of analytics-based blocking consistent with the TRACED Act and the Commission’s previously articulated priorities, it adds.
Nevertheless, without prejudice to our longstanding position of record, we intend to continue working with the standard-setting bodies to ensure that whichever code is ultimately adopted for analytics blocking, 603+ or 608, the code provides actionable information and that it can be implemented in the networks of both providers and callers in a reasonably prompt fashion.”