Technology Companies Complete First-Ever Telephone Call with Authenticated Caller ID and Rich Call Data, Powered by STIR/SHAKEN

A group of technology companies and voice service providers today announced a key milestone in protecting consumers from fraudulent robocalls, and building a more secure and trustworthy telephone ecosystem. Comcast, Everbridge, NetNumber, Numeracle, and Twilio completed what is believed to be the first ever call to combine authenticated caller ID and Rich Call Data (RCD), powered by the STIR/SHAKEN framework and protocols.

Enhancing authenticated caller ID as an extension of STIR/SHAKEN, Rich Call Data is an evolutionary leap forward for trust in the phone ecosystem. Using public key cryptography and the global STIR/SHAKEN family of protocols, Rich Call Data allows legitimate callers to tell recipients exactly who they are, where they’re calling from, and even why they are calling, with the highest degree of trust and certainty. This technology is particularly important for enterprise callers, who need reliable tools to reach their customers.

The history-making call was completed on Comcast’s voice network using a suite of interoperable technologies and networks from Everbridge, NetNumber, Numeracle, and Twilio.

“With this milestone, we’re beginning to tap into the full power of STIR/SHAKEN to protect consumers and further increase trust in the global telephone ecosystem,” said Chris Wendt, Director of Technical Research and Development, IP Communications Services, Comcast Cable. “While call authentication is powerful by itself, the ability to deliver Rich Call Data to recipients has the potential to create a level of trust and visibility that was never before possible.”

Enterprise callers, contact centers, and their telephone services technology providers use a complex set of call-initiation and routing relationships to deliver calls to customers and consumers. Everbridge, a communications service provider supporting critical event calls and notifications for emergency scenarios – calls that need to be answered – was selected as a demonstration of the power of delivering authenticated enhanced caller identification in this proof of concept. The ability for enterprises to provide Rich Call Data associated with calls they control is a recent addition to the STIR/SHAKEN family of call authentication specifications.