By Doug Green
“The missing layer in stopping scam calls is verified identity—knowing with certainty who is behind the call.”
In a recent Telecom Reseller podcast, I spoke with Keith Buell, General Counsel and Head of Global Public Policy at Numeracle, about the Federal Communications Commission’s latest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on caller ID and what it means for service providers.
At the center of the discussion is a growing consensus in Washington: authentication alone is not enough. While frameworks like STIR/SHAKEN have improved call authentication, they do not fully address the problem of identity—specifically, verifying the entity originating the call.
Numeracle has been focused on this issue since 2018, working at both the regulatory and industry levels to address the gap between authentication and identity. As Buell explained, the company’s mission is to ensure that legitimate calls reach consumers while protecting enterprises and service providers from reputational and regulatory risk associated with misidentified or spam-labeled calls.
The FCC’s NPRM reflects this shift in thinking. The proposal emphasizes stronger caller authentication, greater transparency, and more robust Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. The goal is to reduce illegal robocalls while preserving the ability for legitimate businesses to communicate effectively with customers. Central to this effort is the concept of traceable, verifiable caller identity.
Numeracle has been actively engaged in shaping this conversation. The company submitted formal comments supporting the FCC’s objectives, while advocating for end-to-end identity verification that can scale across the ecosystem. In addition, Numeracle has met with FCC leadership, including Chairman Carr, Commissioner Gomez, and staff from key bureaus such as the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau.
A key theme in those discussions is the need for practical, standards-based solutions that do not disrupt legitimate communications. As Buell noted, the challenge is to balance enforcement with enablement—ensuring bad actors are stopped without inadvertently blocking trusted enterprise traffic.
To address this, Numeracle recently introduced KYC as a Service (KYCaaS), a fully managed solution designed to help service providers implement standardized identity verification processes. The offering enables carriers to collect, validate, and maintain customer identity data in alignment with evolving FCC requirements, while also creating an auditable trail that supports compliance.
More importantly, KYCaaS is positioned as a proactive approach. Rather than reacting to regulatory enforcement after the fact, service providers can establish a framework for verified identity that reduces risk and improves call deliverability.
For service providers, the message is clear: the regulatory environment is shifting toward verified identity as a foundational requirement. Those who move early to implement scalable KYC processes will be better positioned to maintain compliance, protect their brands, and ensure their communications reach customers.
Learn more at: https://www.numeracle.com/kycaas
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