Know Your Upstream Provider on FCC May Agenda

In an April 28, 2026 blog post titled “Modernize,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr outlined priorities for the Commission’s upcoming May agenda, emphasizing the need to update regulatory frameworks to address evolving threats in communications networks. Among several modernization initiatives, the Chairman highlighted a new proposal to establish more specific Know Your Upstream Provider (KYUP) requirements. This initiative is designed to increase accountability across the call path and strengthen the FCC’s ability to address providers that continue to facilitate illegal robocalls despite existing mitigation frameworks.

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"To keep up with an evolving threat landscape, this month we propose establishing more specific Know Your Upstream Provider or KYUP requirements that aim to hold providers to a higher accountability measure or to eliminate them from the voice ecosystem if they continue to facilitate illegal robocalls. While our STIR/SHAKEN call verification framework remains central to call blocking, tracebacks, and other mitigation measures, KYUP takes these efforts further by making sure customers in the call path are meaningfully vetted. The item also aims to improve the standard for number attestations and to close loopholes in STIR/SHAKEN implementation."

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KYC Relevance

The introduction of KYUP requirements represents a significant expansion of identity and accountability expectations beyond traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations. While STIR/SHAKEN remains central to call authentication and traceback, the FCC makes clear that call‑path verification alone is insufficient without meaningful vetting of providers and customers upstream.

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KYUP is intended to ensure that entities participating in the voice ecosystem are not merely passing responsibility downstream, but are actively verifying who they interconnect with and whether those entities pose ongoing risk. By raising accountability standards and explicitly contemplating removal of non‑compliant actors from the ecosystem, the FCC signals that verified identity, oversight, and suitability are now essential components of participation in the voice network.

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Numeracle's Stance

Expanding accountability upstream reinforces the principle that trust in caller identity depends on every participant in the call path being known, verified, and suitable for network access. It is encouraging to see the Commission continue building on recent momentum around KYC and identity following ongoing engagement with industry stakeholders, including Numeracle.

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KYUP closely aligns with long‑advocated positions that verified identity and accountability must travel with the call, not stop at origination. Numeracle supports the adoption of KYUP as a complementary framework that strengthens enforcement, reduces blind spots, and further protects consumers from impersonation and fraud.