Phone Companies FCC Deadline on Robocalls Sept. 28

By Benjamin Cox on September 27, 2021 at 7:57am

Phone companies have only a few short days to start complying with new rules regarding robocalls.

The Federal Communications Commission mandated that every telecommunications company install technology called “sophisticated caller ID” to reduce the number of illegal robocalls by June 30th. By Tuesday, phone companies have to notify the FCC exactly what they are doing to stop the annoying calls.

Teresa Murray, a member of the Consumer Watchdog US Research Interest Group says that not every company has been compliant with the new rules. Murray told Newschannel 20 on Thursday that only about 17% of the more than 3,000 companies in the U.S. are actually doing what they are supposed to do. Murray says if companies are not complying with what the FCC is asking for next Tuesday, then other phone companies are prohibited from putting their phone calls through, which means your phone may not work.

According to the FCC database, companies like Comcast a fully implemented caller ID technology but other major phone companies like Verizon and AT&T are still in the partial stages of mitigating robocalls.

The new rules do not apply to text messages, only robocalls. If you are receiving any robocalls, the FCC said to file a complaint with them.