TL;DR
Quick Answer
TL;DR
Key Facts
- Service provider responsibility: STIR/SHAKEN implementation is performed by voice service providers, not enterprises.
- Provider readiness: A provider's authentication capabilities directly affect how calls are signed and authenticated.
- Number authorization: Providers must have confidence that callers are authorized to use the telephone numbers associated with their calls.
- Attestation outcomes: Authentication results depend in part on a provider's knowledge of the caller and the caller's right to use a number.
- Contract considerations: Authentication responsibilities, support processes, and service expectations may vary by provider relationship.
- Authentication is not reputation: STIR/SHAKEN authenticates caller identity information but does not determine whether a call is wanted or unwanted.
- Call reputation matters: Spam labeling and blocking are still influenced by reputation analytics, complaint activity, and calling behavior.
What Should Businesses Do to Support STIR/SHAKEN Compliance?
Although STIR/SHAKEN compliance is implemented by voice service providers, businesses still play an important role in ensuring their calls are authenticated correctly and perform as expected. Businesses should focus on three key areas: understanding their provider's authentication capabilities, ensuring proper number authorization, and actively managing call reputation.
Authentication helps establish that a caller is authorized to use a telephone number, but it does not guarantee that a call will be trusted, answered, or free from spam labels. Organizations that treat STIR/SHAKEN as only a technical compliance requirement often overlook the operational factors that influence call performance.
How It Works
Top Three Points Businesses Should be Aware of to Comply with STIR/SHAKEN
1. Understand Your Service Provider's STIR/SHAKEN Readiness
Businesses should first understand how their voice service provider handles STIR/SHAKEN authentication.
Important questions include:
- Who is signing our calls?
- What attestation levels can we receive?
- How is number authorization validated?
- What support exists for authentication issues?
The provider responsible for originating calls into the network typically performs the authentication process and determines attestation levels. Understanding that provider relationship is essential when troubleshooting authentication concerns or call treatment issues.
2. Verify Number Authorization and Identity Consistency
Successful authentication depends on the provider's ability to verify that a business is authorized to use the telephone numbers it presents.
Businesses should ensure:
- Telephone number ownership records are accurate.
- Numbers are correctly associated with the organization.
- Caller identity information is consistent across providers.
- Providers have the information necessary to support authentication and attestation decisions.
When authorization records are incomplete or inconsistent, authentication outcomes may be affected.
3. Continue Managing Call Reputation
Many organizations assume authenticated calls will automatically avoid spam labels. In practice, call reputation remains a separate factor.
Wireless carriers and analytics providers continue to evaluate signals such as:
- Complaint activity
- Calling behavior
- Historical number reputation
- Calling patterns
- Other risk indicators
Because reputation systems operate separately from STIR/SHAKEN, even authenticated calls can still be labeled as Spam or Scam. Businesses should continue monitoring call reputation and investigating labeling issues when they occur.
Why This Matters
Why Isn't STIR/SHAKEN Compliance Alone Enough?
STIR/SHAKEN was designed to strengthen caller ID authentication and reduce illegal spoofing. It helps providers and recipients determine whether caller ID information can be trusted, but it does not determine whether a call is wanted or whether a recipient will answer it.
As a result, businesses can be fully authenticated and still experience:
- Spam labels
- Reduced answer rates
- Call blocking
- Consumer distrust
Authentication is an important trust signal, but it is only one component of overall call performance.
Why Should Businesses Be Proactive?
Organizations that understand their provider relationships, maintain accurate number authorization, and actively monitor reputation are generally better positioned to identify and resolve call treatment issues.
A proactive approach can help businesses:
- Improve authentication outcomes
- Reduce confusion around attestation levels
- Respond more quickly to labeling issues
- Maintain a consistent caller identity presence
- Support trusted communications with customers
The strongest results typically come from combining caller authentication, number authorization, identity management, and reputation monitoring rather than relying on any single control.
Common Questions
Do businesses need to implement STIR/SHAKEN themselves?
Usually not. STIR/SHAKEN authentication is generally implemented by voice service providers. However, businesses should understand how their providers authenticate calls and what information may be required to support number authorization and attestation.
Is A-Level Attestation enough to ensure calls are answered?
No. A-Level Attestation indicates a high level of confidence that a caller is authorized to use a telephone number, but it does not determine call reputation or consumer trust. Calls with A-Level Attestation can still receive spam labels or experience low answer rates.
Can compliant businesses still be labeled as spam?
Yes. Spam labeling is generally driven by analytics and reputation systems that operate independently of STIR/SHAKEN authentication. Calling behavior, complaint activity, and number reputation can still influence call treatment.
What should I ask my provider about STIR/SHAKEN?
Businesses should understand who signs their calls, how attestation is determined, how telephone number authorization is verified, and what steps are available if authentication or call treatment issues occur. This can help improve visibility into the authentication process and support faster issue resolution.
Our platform empowers organizations to manage branded calling, improve caller id reputation, and stay compliant with evolving regulatory and industry standards. FAQs and Glossary terms like this are designed to provide clear, actionable guidance backed by our expertise in verified identity, call labeling mitigation, and spam prevention.
To explore how Numeracle supports trusted and effective outbound communications, visit www.numeracle.com.
