Tweet
By Joe Ducey
You hate them. But most of you can't stop them.
And those unwanted or harassing phone calls keep coming.
It's a complaint I see every day.
Even if you are on the Do Not Call list, illegal robo-calls and calls from telemarketers are getting through.
Aaron Foss says he can help.
Two years ago, Foss was co-winner of a Federal Trade Commission contest to find the best call blocker.
His creation is called Nomorobo.
But it's not surprising if you haven't heard of it.
Because right now, few of you can get access to it.
Simply put, Nomorobo gets the call when you do and it detects the problem calls.
"You're basically giving permission to Nomorobo to answer calls for you and hang up on robo-callers," Foss says.
If Nomorobo stops the call, you'll only hear one ring.
He says those blocked calls includes a lot of the scam calls you've been letting me know about.
"They pretend to be from the IRS. Nomorobo stops them. They pretend to be from Windows and talk about a computer virus. We protect you from that also," Foss says.
And it's FREE!
But all the big service phone service providers like Verizon, Sprint, AT & T, T-Mobile, Century Link and Cox don't allow it.
Why?
One reason given by the industry, is that Nomorobo's "simultaneous ring” technology is not compatible with their services.
Foss disagrees.
"All of the carriers can go and implement that technology," he says.
Another reason given: The Federal Communications Commission won't allow it.
Recently, CTIA- the Wireless Association, which represents wireless carriers, told the FCC that the agency has made clear that common carriers may not block, throttle, or otherwise impede calls."
They even point to enforcement actions taken by the FCC concerning blocking calls.
The Industry has cited a distinction between letting third parties (like Nomorobo) choose which numbers are blocked, and letting customers choose those numbers.
Current allowed call-blocking gives customers a choice in which numbers they want to block.
While Foss sees FCC regulations as "slightly ambiguous", he says "it was never meant to be about robo-call blocking and now everyone is asking for clarification."
That includes the National Association of Attorneys General.
In a letter to the FCC, they mention Nomorobo and "the telephone company’s resistance to embrace call-blocking technology."
Foss recently went to the agency's steps with boxes full of 14 million numbers he says Nomorobo blocked in 2014.
Most of them are from voice over internet customers where Nomorobo is accessible.
It shows why he thinks the government chose Nomorobo as a winning call blocker.
And he says, it shows hot it can do the same thing for millions of others.
"The more people who ask for it, the more likely the carriers will offer it,” Foss says.
In an email to Let Joe Know, the FCC says: "We cannot comment on open proceedings before the commission. I can try to give background about process and such, but I can’t speculate on a matter the commission is in the process of collecting comments about."
Here's how to contact the FCC , Verizon, T-Mobile , Sprint, AT&T , Cox and Century Link.
Learn more about Nomorobo .
Here are phone service provider statements to Let Joe Know:
Verizon: "We do not have the functionality to support this on our network. We do, however, offer our customers options to block calls and enable other spam controls. More information is available here:”
Sprint: "I can’t comment about Nomorobo’s distribution model, that’s really a question for them. In addition to using My Sprint (outlined below), Sprint customers have a lot of choices for solutions that block calls and text messages, including these apps and many, many more:
Android (Google Play store)· CallBlocker, BlockSpamNumbersCallsTexts, WhosCall, PrivacyStar, Call Controller, MrNumber, Calls Blacklist
iOS7 Block Call list (in Settings on the handset)
I encourage you to visit an app store on you smartphone. Customers have the freedom to view ratings, read reviews and choose the solution that’s best for them. Some apps charge a small fee, but many are free."
Century Link: "Centurylink offers its customers several products designed to reduce the recurrence of unwanted calls. However, we do not currently offer the simultaneous ring capability required by Nomorobo.”
Cox: "For this service to work it requires a specific calling feature that isn’t compatible with our current phone platform.”
CTIA-The Wireless Association:
"The wireless industry supports numerous tools and applications that empower consumers to block unwanted calls. ‘Nomorobo’ is one such tool, but it only works on networks that support ‘simultaneous ring service’ - a feature that delivers an incoming call to multiple locations. Wireless networks are designed to deliver calls to a person, not a place. Accordingly,
You hate them. But most of you can't stop them.
And those unwanted or harassing phone calls keep coming.
It's a complaint I see every day.
Even if you are on the Do Not Call list, illegal robo-calls and calls from telemarketers are getting through.
Aaron Foss says he can help.
Two years ago, Foss was co-winner of a Federal Trade Commission contest to find the best call blocker.
His creation is called Nomorobo.
But it's not surprising if you haven't heard of it.
Because right now, few of you can get access to it.
Simply put, Nomorobo gets the call when you do and it detects the problem calls.
"You're basically giving permission to Nomorobo to answer calls for you and hang up on robo-callers," Foss says.
If Nomorobo stops the call, you'll only hear one ring.
He says those blocked calls includes a lot of the scam calls you've been letting me know about.
"They pretend to be from the IRS. Nomorobo stops them. They pretend to be from Windows and talk about a computer virus. We protect you from that also," Foss says.
And it's FREE!
But all the big service phone service providers like Verizon, Sprint, AT & T, T-Mobile, Century Link and Cox don't allow it.
Why?
One reason given by the industry, is that Nomorobo's "simultaneous ring” technology is not compatible with their services.
Foss disagrees.
"All of the carriers can go and implement that technology," he says.
Another reason given: The Federal Communications Commission won't allow it.
Recently, CTIA- the Wireless Association, which represents wireless carriers, told the FCC that the agency has made clear that common carriers may not block, throttle, or otherwise impede calls."
They even point to enforcement actions taken by the FCC concerning blocking calls.
The Industry has cited a distinction between letting third parties (like Nomorobo) choose which numbers are blocked, and letting customers choose those numbers.
Current allowed call-blocking gives customers a choice in which numbers they want to block.
While Foss sees FCC regulations as "slightly ambiguous", he says "it was never meant to be about robo-call blocking and now everyone is asking for clarification."
That includes the National Association of Attorneys General.
In a letter to the FCC, they mention Nomorobo and "the telephone company’s resistance to embrace call-blocking technology."
Foss recently went to the agency's steps with boxes full of 14 million numbers he says Nomorobo blocked in 2014.
Most of them are from voice over internet customers where Nomorobo is accessible.
It shows why he thinks the government chose Nomorobo as a winning call blocker.
And he says, it shows hot it can do the same thing for millions of others.
"The more people who ask for it, the more likely the carriers will offer it,” Foss says.
In an email to Let Joe Know, the FCC says: "We cannot comment on open proceedings before the commission. I can try to give background about process and such, but I can’t speculate on a matter the commission is in the process of collecting comments about."
Here's how to contact the FCC , Verizon, T-Mobile , Sprint, AT&T , Cox and Century Link.
Learn more about Nomorobo .
Here are phone service provider statements to Let Joe Know:
Verizon: "We do not have the functionality to support this on our network. We do, however, offer our customers options to block calls and enable other spam controls. More information is available here:”
Sprint: "I can’t comment about Nomorobo’s distribution model, that’s really a question for them. In addition to using My Sprint (outlined below), Sprint customers have a lot of choices for solutions that block calls and text messages, including these apps and many, many more:
Android (Google Play store)· CallBlocker, BlockSpamNumbersCallsTexts, WhosCall, PrivacyStar, Call Controller, MrNumber, Calls Blacklist
iOS7 Block Call list (in Settings on the handset)
I encourage you to visit an app store on you smartphone. Customers have the freedom to view ratings, read reviews and choose the solution that’s best for them. Some apps charge a small fee, but many are free."
Century Link: "Centurylink offers its customers several products designed to reduce the recurrence of unwanted calls. However, we do not currently offer the simultaneous ring capability required by Nomorobo.”
Cox: "For this service to work it requires a specific calling feature that isn’t compatible with our current phone platform.”
CTIA-The Wireless Association:
"The wireless industry supports numerous tools and applications that empower consumers to block unwanted calls. ‘Nomorobo’ is one such tool, but it only works on networks that support ‘simultaneous ring service’ - a feature that delivers an incoming call to multiple locations. Wireless networks are designed to deliver calls to a person, not a place. Accordingly,
Comment