Tech, Providers Disagree on USTelecom Call Blocking Recon

Tech and telco groups disagreed about USTelecom's petition for reconsideration of calling party notification and blocked call list requirements, in comments posted Monday in docket 17-59 (see 2105200074). Lumen said requirements should exclude legacy networks because it's "unclear whether those systems are technically capable of accommodating such a notification." The Voice on the Net Coalition agreed and said the FCC should confirm that calls blocked by a subscriber through anonymous call rejection or Do Not Disturb don't fall under the session initiation protocol (SIP) response code requirements. The Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee disagreed: "Introducing carrier discretion as to the type of notification will only increase confusion for legitimate callers." Incompas and the Cloud Communications Alliance said such flexibility "is exactly what the commission sought to avoid by prescribing standardized uniform notifications." The groups opposed extending January's deadline for notification implementation. USTelecom's petition "does not explain how a different form of notification would be superior to use of the SIP codes," said the American Bankers Association, National Retail Federation and others.