T-Mobile has announced their collaboration with CTIA, the wireless industry association, to create best practices for new and improved Caller ID features for corporations. Businesses and organizations will be able to provide confirmed calls with an immediately identifiable Caller ID display, including the organization’s logo or name, on compatible handsets using this new Branded Caller ID (BCI) service.
BCI, according to the company, builds on the STIR/SHAKEN framework’s verification by affirmatively identifying businesses or organizations that are calling, such as doctor’s offices and banks, so that these parties can reach their customers, who are currently reluctant to answer unknown numbers and may miss important and wanted calls. In the summer of 2021, T-Mobile USA showcased this technology.
According to T-Mobile research, in 2021, 78% of consumers missed an essential call because they did not identify the caller. Trusted calling is more vital than ever for customers and organizations that rely on phone conversations for critical activities such as financial services, insurance and healthcare.
With branded and verified outbound calls, Branded Caller ID will enable firms to better identify themselves to customers. BCI also includes Rich Call Data (RCD), which means that anyone phoned by a BCI-enabled organization may see not only who is calling, but also the reason for the call, such as payment concerns or delivery scheduling. Consumers may therefore make educated decisions about whether or not to answer calls, keeping them shielded from spam and scams while not missing important calls.
The BCI best practices approach is facilitated by CTIA, which is collaborating with organizations throughout the industry to give verified and trustworthy information to participating network providers. In order for it all to work, businesses will have to register with the database and undergo a verification process, with the objective of not just alerting customers to verified and unverified calls, but also proactively helping them feel more confident that they can identify and answer legitimate calls.
