I've had several people ask some great questions about the Robocall Mitigation plan since I sent out my last e-mail so I just wanted to clarify who needs to file a Robocall Mitigation plan by June 30, 2021. All companies that sell or resell voice services of any type (VOIP, TDM, Wireless) OR any company that has an end user customer they provide DIDs to are considered telecom carriers. It does NOT matter if you use upstream providers or not. It does not matter if you use another carrier's certificate or not! If you provide DIDs to a paying customer for any reason you are considered a telecom carrier so you need to file a Robocall Mitigation Plan. For those of you who aren't familiar with me, you may be wondering why I bother to post about this. I've been a Telecom Carrier Consultant for the last 21 years and have helped over a hundred carriers (CLECs, ILECs, Paging, Satellite, and Wireless) install and maintain their facilities based networks. The reason I post information about this is not because I don't have enough work to do. It is because over the years I have seen certain parties we won't mention do anything and everything they can to put the small carriers out of business and I don't want anyone to be taken out because they didn't realize they needed to do something to comply. I am a firm believer that no company can be everything to everyone so there is a place in the world for all carriers that provide good services. I've had people coming to me from the beginning asking for help getting their STIR/SHAKEN certificate so I'm very familiar with the process and what the upstream carriers are telling their underlying carriers. I'm also very familiar with the many changes that have been made to the requirements for getting a certificate. It's been confusing for everyone involved and especially the mitigation plan because that started out as an alternative to getting a certificate but it's turned into something that is required of every carrier. So regardless of whether you've already turned up STIR/SHAKEN or you're using someone else's certificate.......make sure you file your Robocall Mitigation Plan. I am not the only consultant helping people get their paperwork done so they can qualify for a certificate, so there's no obligation to use my services. All I'm saying is that whether you do it on your own or you hire someone to help you, make sure you file your Robocall Mitigation plan by June 30th. For those of you who are already STIR/SHAKEN compliant, it just means you sign in and mark your company as compliant! MARY LOU CAREY BackUP Telecom Consulting Office: 615-791-9969 Cell: 615-796-1111