GATINEAU — In a decision released today, the CRTC has set November 30, 2021, as the date by which Canadian telecommunications service providers (TSPs) must implement STIR/SHAKEN (new tech intended to combat caller ID spoofing) to authenticate and verify caller identification information for IP-based voice calls as a condition of offering and providing telecom services, pursuant to sections 24 and 24.1 of the Telecommunications Act.
The Commission previously postponed implementation of the STIR/SHAKEN framework until June 30, 2021. In today’s compliance and enforcement and telecom decision, the Commission acknowledges “some technical and policy issues have yet to be resolved, which will likely preclude a complete deployment of the STIR/SHAKEN framework by 30 June 2021,” says the decision.
TSPs are now required to submit an implementation readiness assessment report by August 31, 2021 (within two months of the June 30th implementation date) to provide a short overview of their STIR/SHAKEN implementation. The information to be included in the implementation readiness assessment report is outlined in Appendix 1 of the Commission’s decision.
“The Commission considers that TSPs should have a reasonable amount of time following the filing of the implementation readiness assessment report before the requirement imposed under sections 24 and 24.1 of the Act becomes effective, to allow for the resolution of technical and policy-related issues, including those that may be identified in the report, and to finalize the integration of STIR/SHAKEN capability. To that end, the Commission considers that a 90-day period following the deadline for submitting the implementation readiness assessment report would be appropriate,” reads the Commission’s decision.
“[P]ursuant to sections 24 and 24.1 of the Act, the Commission directs that, as a condition of offering and providing telecommunications services, TSPs must implement STIR/SHAKEN in order to authenticate and validate IP-based voice calls, effective 30 November 2021.”
The service providers are also required to provide a status report on their continuing efforts to deploy STIR/SHAKEN every six months, starting May 31, 2022. These reports are due to the Commission on the last days of May and November, covering the period from the September 1 to February 28 (for the May report) and from March 1 to August 31 (for the November report).
For more details, please see the Commission’s decision here.
