Latest from Columnist

Photo 111717978 © Sarawut Nirothon | Dreamstime.com
Photo 280787037 © Dzmitry Dzemidovich | Dreamstime.com
Dreamstime L 280787037
Photo 186133805 © Auremar | Dreamstime.com
Dreamstime L 186133805
ISE Columnist Sharon Vollman, Editorial Director

Stronger Together

Oct. 1, 2019
In mid-August, 12 major service providers agreed to work together to slow robocallers. This is a good move since robocalls reached 4.7 billion in July, according to YouMail, a call-blocking […]

In mid-August, 12 major service providers agreed to work together to slow robocallers. This is a good move since robocalls reached 4.7 billion in July, according to YouMail, a call-blocking service.

The 12 network service providers include: AT&T, Bandwidth, Comcast, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, Frontier Communications, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and Windstream Services.

The question is: How will they do this?

Part of the answer is that they’ll analyze network traffic to identify patterns that are consistent with robocalls. Armed with this data, they’ll investigate the activity and share with attorneys general to help find and prosecute the illegal robocallers.

The other part of the answer: Coopetition.

Coopetition is a term that describes unconventional collaboration and cooperation within an otherwise competitive field of players.

We know that, behind closed doors, telecom providers work together on all types of things. But, this will be a more public display of affection — and that will be interesting to watch, for sure.

How long will the solution take? There is no deadline on the new rule requirements, which says to me that we may not see the solution for quite some time.

That said, if this project is successful, perhaps we’ll see the major and minor players across our industry collaborate on something equally as important: delivering decent Internet speeds to the unserved and underserved of our nation.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com

About the Author

Sharon Vollman | Content Ambassador for ISE EXPO

Sharon Vollman is the Content Ambassador for ISE EXPO. She is passionate about collaborating with thought leaders, SMEs and hard-working doers who design, plan and deploy ultra-reliable broadband networks. Vollman is committed to creating a variety of educational offerings for ISE EXPO attendees that inspire them to connect every U.S. citizen with the broadband networks we all want for our children and grandchildren.

Vollman has created educational partnerships with Broadband Service Providers including  AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Frontier Communications and others. She has covered the telecom industry since 1996.