STIR/SHAKEN Compliance Deadline Update for VoIP Networks
The FCC issued an order on December 10, 2021, affecting all non-facilities-based carriers and some small voice service providers (SVSPs), moving their STIR/SHAKEN compliance deadline from June 30, 2023, up to June 30, 2022, for all VoIP/IP networks.
Why the deadline moved up
The FCC is working to eradicate illegal robocalls, and STIR/SHAKEN is a critical part of that effort — but the program only works when all carriers are compliant, and scammers have gravitated toward non-facilities-based carriers and SVSPs precisely because they were harder to trace without SHAKEN. With the technology and ecosystem now caught up, the FCC determined any VoIP network can reasonably become compliant and moved the deadline accordingly, also authorizing SHAKEN carriers to block non-tokenized traffic originating from VoIP networks.
A non-facilities-based carrier is a VoIP-based carrier that doesn't own or operate its own transmission facilities; these carriers originally had until June 30, 2023 to obtain the necessary signing token. A small voice service provider is any local exchange carrier with 100,000 or fewer voice subscriber lines — think a small, independent local telco with a few thousand lines. Any SVSP responsible for a disproportionate volume of illegal robocalls compared to larger, facilities-based carriers now has to meet the June 30, 2022 deadline, and the FCC has directed its Enforcement Bureau to notify SVSPs suspected of being a robocall source.
What this means for legitimate operations
Worst case, your carrier isn't SHAKEN-ready, which means potential call blocking or calls delivered without full attestation. We recommend a SHAKEN test: call four numbers from your dialer or phone system, and we'll determine whether and how your calls are digitally signed, and at what attestation level.
