- Bandwidth Inc (NASDAQ: BAND) — a software company that is focused on communications for the enterprise — announced it has partnered with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) for the delivery of authenticated calls
Bandwidth Inc (NASDAQ: BAND) — a software company that is focused on communications for the enterprise — announced it has partnered with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) for the delivery of authenticated calls between their networks with adherence to the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) framework.
And the interoperability between Comcast and Bandwidth establishes important protocols that are essential steps for helping combat robocalling and malicious phone number spoofing practices.
SHAKEN (Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) and STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) (or vice versa: STIR/SHAKEN) are telecommunication industry standards that are designed for enabling service providers to cryptographically sign calls in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header. STIR refers to the process of confirming that the call is legitimate and SHAKEN about how to handle the calls.
This process utilizes a trusted public key infrastructure for enhancing the integrity of the originating call identifying data sent across networks. And with STIR/SHAKEN, SIP headers contain confidence indicator levels from the originating service provider to signal whether the party originating the call has the right to use the number depending on the 3 levels of attestation (full attestation, partial attestation, or gateway attestation).
STIR/SHAKEN is not actually a technology that blocks the calls, but it is a tool that provides indications of when potential fraud is occurring. Along with implementing STIR/SHAKEN, Bandwidth has policies to block unlawful robocalls and other forms of fraud.
Bandwidth (NASDAQ: BAND) is used by companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Zoom, and RingCentral to easily embed voice, messaging, and 911 access into software and applications. And Bandwidth is the first and only CPaaS provider offering a wide selection of communications APIs built around their own nationwide IP voice network.
KEY QUOTES:
“The interoperability established between Comcast and Bandwidth is part of our ongoing commitment to reduce robocalling and its negative impact on consumers and legitimate business communications. Working with responsible partners like Comcast, Bandwidth continues to push towards more stringent standards and practices to help consumers re-establish confidence in communications initiated by the brands they know and trust.”
— Scott Mullen, CTO at Bandwidth
“We are excited to have the opportunity to work with partners like Bandwidth to combat fraudulent robocalling and make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of people. Interoperability partnerships like this one are critical to ensuring that telephone users get the full benefit of this technology.”
— Chris Wendt, Director of Technical Research and Development, IP Communications Services, Comcast Cable
