March 2020 - VoiceOps - lists.voiceops.org

ANIs flagged as telemarketer/spammer/scammer
by abalashov＠evaristesys.com Nov. 14, 2021

Nov. 14, 2021

Hi, So, of course, it is a known problem in the legitimate side of the lead engagement call centre, survey, etc. business that ANIs get flagged as "telemarketer" pretty quickly and start showing up that way on people's phones. Your normative viewpoint on that may vary depending on what you think of lead gen calls, but regardless, a reasonable person would differentiate between: (1) Legitimate outbound dialing operations that are following up with leads who provided their phone number and agreed to be called (at least, as a matter of clicking "accept" on _something_), or for some other legitimate mass-dialing purpose, and who actually own the DID inventory from which they present local-market ANIs and can in fact be reached on those numbers; (2) Illegal spammers who use fake ANIs and call people who did not in any way consent to being called by them. I am trying to learn a bit more about how this is done and what a legitimate, above-board business can do about it. Ignoring the factor of third-party call-screening apps (which most people with a mobile don't use), where is this generally implemented? As I understand it, T-Mobile do it on the network level. I have T-Mobile myself, and probably 2/3rds of unfamiliar numbers, including quite legitimate ones, show up as "Scam Likely" ? I know that's come up on the list before. AT&T displays "Telemarketer"; do they do it that way too, or do they use a Google Android feature for that which they enable as part of their carrier defaults for carrier-issued phones? What about other carriers and Android? As far as I know, Apple don't do anything like this. Do people with iPhones just not receive this "service"? How does that work? Asking where the central, or the most influential authority lies and who provides it goes to the heart of the real question, which is: what can a legitimate business do if their number has been blacklisted this way? As I understand it, the maintainers of these lists, along with the criteria for getting on them, are elusive and inscrutable, and there's really no recourse and no appeals process. I furthermore understand that this has led to the widespread approach of rotating ANIs, but that's a losing battle; they get flagged too. I imagine it won't be long before the criteria for "Scam Likely" are just "number appears to call lots of numbers in this rate centre and otherwise hasn't been around very long". But this is all just conjecture on my part; I really don't know much about how my carrier, anyone's carrier, or some BigCo that's behind my mobile OS decides that a call is a "telemarketer" or "scam" call. If anyone can shed some light on how this really works and what, if anything can be done about it, I would be most appreciative. -- Alex Balashov | Principal | Evariste Systems LLC Tel: +1-706-510-6800 / +1-800-250-5920 (toll-free) Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/, http://www.csrpswitch.com/

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Connecting to Remote Tandems
by voiceops＠ics-il.net July 9, 2021

July 9, 2021

I'm evaluating methods of extending our footprint. I purposely left out company names. One of the companies we talked to was really only interested in getting us the inbound long distance calls, not the local ones. Well, they would, but the terms were vastly different. Given that I still need to build out to connect to the local tandem, what's the point in using a third party to connect to long distance? Are the terms for connecting to the local tandems different because the access tandem is simpler, whereas the local tandem could potentially involve connections to a bunch of other switches, once volume dictated I needed direct connections... and they don't want to deal with that? Are there third parties that don't have vastly different terms for local tandem services? Also, is it likely that I just don't understand what's going on? I went circles with the sales rep to make sure I understood what he was saying, but I could be wrong. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com Midwest Internet Exchange http://www.midwest-ix.com

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Three Digit Numbers
by voiceops＠ics-il.net May 15, 2020

May 15, 2020

What three digit numbers are commonly in use and how are people routing them? Obviously there's 911 and that has a whole routing ecosystem. What about 811? 311? X11? What other special numbers are people handling? ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com Midwest Internet Exchange http://www.midwest-ix.com

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unusual attempts of calls to 60547290XX
by igoldstein＠telego.net March 29, 2020

March 29, 2020

anyone else noticed this -- Izzy Goldstein Chief Technology Officer Main: (212) 477-1000 x 2085 <(212)%20477-1000> Direct: (929) 477-2085 Website: www.telego.com <http://www.telego.net/> <http://www.telego.com/> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this e-mail in error please notify us immediately by email reply and destroy this e-mail. Any unauthorized copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this e-mail is strictly forbidden. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of TeleGo (T). Employees of TeleGo are expressly required not to make defamatory statements and not to infringe or authorize any infringement of copyright or any other legal right by email communications. Any such communication is contrary to TeleGo policy and outside the scope of the employment of the individual concerned. TeleGo will not accept any liability in respect of such communication, and the employee responsible will be personally liable for any damages or other liability arising. TeleGo Hosted PBX <https://youtu.be/DaT8YAZ4V0w>

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Update on STIR / SHAKEN
by marylou＠backuptelecom.com March 29, 2020

March 29, 2020

Just wanted to give everyone an update on STIR / SHAKEN since it still seems to be so confusing to everyone. I spoke with Brent Struthers from ATIS again today because I've been getting a lot of questions about how many LATAs Interconnected VOIP providers have to order NXXs in to qualify for a STIR/SHAKEN certificate. In case you didn't read our previous discussion, the original guidelines for getting a STIR / SHAKEN certificate state you need to meet the following 3 requirements: 1. Have an OCN assignment for CLEC, ILEC, IPES, Paging, RBOC, or Wireless 2. Be assigned a 499 Filer ID and submit 499 filings 3. Direct Access to Numbering Resources through NANPA In talking with Brent today, I discovered that the FCC doesn't really care if you order any NXXs for your company. Brent said what they really expect is for every carrier to have an FCC License, Authorization, or State Certification. Below is the type of licensing each carrier type needs: - CLEC (State Certification) - ILEC (State Certification) - Paging (FCC License) - RBOC (State Certification) - Satellite (FCC License) - Wireless (FCC License) - VOIP (Interconnected VOIP Numbering Authorization from FCC) So the bottom line for all you VOIP providers is that EVERY VOIP PROVIDER must get an Authorization from the FCC so they can acquire their own STIR / SHAKEN certificate. You don't need to order any NXXs to get a STIR/SHAKEN certificate! Getting the FCC Authorization is much less work than turning up a LATA with your own NXX, so please don't let any DID service providers talk you into using their certificate. YOU NEED YOUR OWN STIR/SHAKEN certificate! One last thing regarding Interconnected VOIP Providers because I've also had a lot of questions regarding when it becomes beneficial to operate as an Interconnected VOIP Provider. First of all, let me explain the difference in architecture between the DID service provider and the Hosted PSTN Service provider. DID Service Providers allow you to order DIDs from anywhere in their service area. They charge per TN based on rate center and manage all the routing of the traffic as well as your NRUF reporting and number ports. Hosted PSTN service follows the same network architecture that the PSTN network does so it's only implemented by LATA / ILEC Tandem area. You get a CLLI and NXX for each LATA / ILEC tandem area so you can establish an LRN for that LATA. You can port a number from any rate center in that LATA / ILEC Tandem area to your LRN and you pay based on the type of traffic it is rather than the rate center classification. While the Hosted PSTN provider manages the routing of the traffic for you, you manage your own NRUF reporting and Number Porting. Below are my recommendations on when it becomes beneficial to move from a DID service in a particular LATA to a Hosted PSTN service in that LATA. 1. You have a lot of TNs in a particular LATA: DID service charges anywhere from $0.05 to $0.50 per TN. The monthly recurring charge for a 1,000 block in each LATA varies by month but currently averages about $1.40 per month. You also have to figure in a few other costs, but what you pay is determined by the Hosted switch provider you use. 2. You port a lot of TNs in a particular LATA: DID service charges to port each TN. NPAC charges based on the number of ports. A port is any group of consecutive numbers within an NPA-NXX block. So if you wanted to port 100 consecutive numbers, the DID service would charge you for 100 ports but NPAC would only charge you for 1 port. There are multiple options when it comes to the method of porting, so don't let that scare you. You can hire someone to do the porting for you or do your own through the NPAC LTI service, a hosted app, or a managed service that integrates the whole process for you. 3. You have a lot of traffic in a particular LATA and want more control over which carrier you route your traffic through: When you use a DID service provider, your only option is to use the services of that carrier. When you manage your own porting, if there's an issue with traffic blocking you can re-route your traffic to the LRN of another carrier that you are set up with. When you have your own NXXs they are associated with your own OCN so it's easier to move your traffic from one carrier's network to another carrier's network should you ever need to down the road. So that's the scoop! Feel free to e-mail me privately if you have more questions. MARY LOU CAREY BackUP Telecom Consulting Office: 615-791-9969 Cell: 615-796-1111

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Requirements for SHAKEN service providers
by Jamie.Montgomery＠comporium.com March 27, 2020

March 27, 2020

For your insomnia: https://access.atis.org/apps/group_public/download.php/51936/ATIS-0300119(2… I cant say I've read the main documents fully, but others in my organization handle different parts. I've applied for codes before. The requirements are listed in the book(s), but some things I remember you needing is a certification from your state's public utility commission stating you are a provider of telephone service (CLEC/ILEC/Wireless, etc.), proof that you have or will have facilities to provide voice service within six months... I remember about six things. Sorry to be vague but I'm sure other professionals will chime in. You'd need to access the National Pooling website (www.nationalpooling.com) , get a login, and apply for thousands blocks there. After the application and supporting documents are submitted and approved, you'll need access or go through a third party to get access to the porting administrator... NPAC, I believe. (We go through a third party.) From start to finish, the process can take up to a month or two months to be able to turn up service. Jamie The information contained in this e-mail message and any attachments thereto are confidential, privileged, or otherwise protected from disclosure, and are intended for the use of the individual or entity named above. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this message and any attachments by anyone other than the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or e-mail and destroy the original message, attachments, and all copies. -----Original Message----- From: VoiceOps <voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org> On Behalf Of voiceops-request at voiceops.org Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2020 3:36 PM To: voiceops at voiceops.org Subject: [EXTERNAL] VoiceOps Digest, Vol 126, Issue 33 Send VoiceOps mailing list submissions to voiceops at voiceops.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/voiceops or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to voiceops-request at voiceops.org You can reach the person managing the list at voiceops-owner at voiceops.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of VoiceOps digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Requirements for SHAKEN service providers (Zilk, David) 2. Re: Coronavirus Traffic Patterns (Carlos Alvarez) 3. Re: Coronavirus Traffic Patterns (Alex Balashov) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:51:54 +0000 From: "Zilk, David" <David.Zilk at cdk.com> To: "voiceops at voiceops.org" <voiceops at voiceops.org> Subject: [VoiceOps] Requirements for SHAKEN service providers Message-ID: <977C87BC9439174ABA38FECD5661C7F5F33B7AF5 at DSXMBX2HE.ds.ad.adp.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" There are three requirements for a Service Provider to be included in the SHAKEN ecosystem: 1. Service Provider must have an OCN 2. Service Provider must have a current Form 499-A filed with the FCC 3. Service Provider must have direct access to telephone numbers from the North American Number Plan Administrator (NANPA) and National Pooling Administrator (NPA) My company meets the first two requirements as we have an OCN as an interconnected voice provider (IPES) and a current Form 499-A filed, however we obtain telephone numbers from our carriers, and don't have our own numbers assigned from NANPA and NPA. How do we determine if we are eligible to obtain numbers and thus be qualified to play in the SHAKEN ecosystem? David ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, notify the sender immediately by return email and delete the message and any attachments from your system.

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Requirements for SHAKEN service providers
by David.Zilk＠cdk.com March 26, 2020

March 26, 2020

There are three requirements for a Service Provider to be included in the SHAKEN ecosystem: 1. Service Provider must have an OCN 2. Service Provider must have a current Form 499-A filed with the FCC 3. Service Provider must have direct access to telephone numbers from the North American Number Plan Administrator (NANPA) and National Pooling Administrator (NPA) My company meets the first two requirements as we have an OCN as an interconnected voice provider (IPES) and a current Form 499-A filed, however we obtain telephone numbers from our carriers, and don't have our own numbers assigned from NANPA and NPA. How do we determine if we are eligible to obtain numbers and thus be qualified to play in the SHAKEN ecosystem? David ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, notify the sender immediately by return email and delete the message and any attachments from your system.

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Coronavirus Traffic Patterns
by amelton＠gmail.com March 26, 2020

March 26, 2020

It would be interesting to hear what kind of traffic shifts this group has observed over the past 2 weeks. While certain variances are predictable, i.e. Mother's Day, I have no idea what to expect with millions of people in the US suddenly working from home every day and how that informs metrics, planning, reporting, etc. -Andy ----------------------------------- Please wash your hands. -----------------------------------

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Disaster Planning & Continuing Operations in a Lockdown World
by beckman＠angryox.com March 23, 2020

March 23, 2020

We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. I just saw that South Africa is now in a 21-day lockdown, and it got me thinking: are my service providers ready to get engineers to physical plants should there be outages? Now South Africa announced an exemption for "those involved in the production, distribution and supply of ... telecommunications services" I'd be curious how they will differentiate people in telecom, given the lack of centralized badges. Will a business card do it? What about small telecoms who don't have "official badges" for access control, just a business card and a ring of keys? Given that, I've started asking my telecom and hosting providers what their plans are should their local, state or federal government issue a similar lockdown. I've got a datacenter nearby that has some services that are essential to providing our telecommunications services. Will a business card and Gov't ID get me through a checkpoint if a lockdown is issued? I'm glad to see that telecom services are exempted, but it will be interesting to hear from all of you if non-911 services like Skype still count as telecom services and will likely be exempt. Obviously 911 services and mobile service is considered critical, but what about my home phone service, which is handled through a VoIP carrier? What about my FIOS broadband? Critical? I do hope so! And also interesting, do hosted server providers also count? E.g. if you have servers and services deployed on AWS in US-East-1, and are a telecom service, and northern Virginia is locked down, do AWS employees traveling to Datacenters get a pass? Do all datacenter techs? I hope so, but it also worries me. Phone Numbers are a single point of failure; I can work around server outages, but I cannot really solve issues where my carriers or multiple hosting providers go dark. Beckman --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Beckman Internet Guy beckman at angryox.com http://www.angryox.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Investigating random call completion issues nationwide
by darren＠2600hz.com March 21, 2020

March 21, 2020

Hi folks, We?ve been getting occasional, very infrequent, reports of people hitting busy signals or intercept messages when calling numbers routed to us. At first we thought the issue was between us and Peerless but we now have reports with bandwidth and Inteliquent. So, then of course naturally we thought the issue was in our systems. But again, we?ve come up empty. We also thought it may be trunk or port limitations upstream. Have checked those. No dice. The issue seems to always be the same. Customer from cell phone or landline dials a number, reaches a busy signal or intercept message. All reports are from Verizon or AT&T callers. We check our logs, don?t see any attempt to even reach our system (we log freakin everything). So we reach out to the upstream provider, and they too claim it never reached their tandem/network. I know everyone on earth is currently WFH so perhaps that warrants just shutting up & dealing with it but I?ve been surprised not to see any chatter on this list or elsewhere in this regard. Is anyone else having indications of capacity issues (and are y?all just not talking about it) or is it just us and we should keep looking? - Darren

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