NoMo RoBo

NoMo RoBo

This solution will utilize existing technology to categorize incoming calls into one of 4 categories:

1. White Listed &/or Authorized calls
2. Black Listed known RoboCall violators
3. Gray Listed suspected RoboCall violators
4. Unknown or unidentified callers.

Calls in Category 1 will be connected immediately.

Calls in Categories 2, 3 & 4 will be routed through a Call Validation Process that requires the calling party to manually respond to queries that will confirm the caller as a human being, which will enable the call to be connected.

Call recipients will be able to terminate a received call, and (within a specified elapsed time) Flag the previous call as an illegal RoboCall. Calls designated this way will be Gray Listed, and reviewed to determine if a Black Listing is appropriate (see text of full proposal for the process and control details.

The Proposal outlines methods to prevent authorized RoboCallers from being wrongly Gray or Black Listed. There are also processes for appealing a Black List designation.

I believe this solution has a high probability of success because it requires RoboCall violators to perform human intervention to allow a call to be connected. It also includes provisions to prevent blocking of authorized RoboCalls.

This implementation addresses all types of phones (Mobile phones, Traditional wired lines, VoIP lines, etc.).

This idea borrows from existing implemented Call Intercept solutions, and with some scale-up and refinements to the user-interface, it can be implemented across all telephone service providers.

RoboCallers will encounter difficulty to by-pass the Validation Tests without human intervention; any adaptation to counter can be met by a simple change in the IVR Validation modules. Foreseeable changes in calling techniques will still require an identifiable & traceable addressing system, and this solution will still be positioned in the path of the final connection for unidentified calls, thwarting the completion of RoboCalls, making for a form of future-proofing built into this solution (at least until telepathy has evolved for the majority of human beings).

Since there are no changes to equipment at the consumer end, there are likewise no new procedures or actions to be learned. The ONLY new action is similar to the existing “*69” code a consumer now uses to identify missed calls. This is a code a consumer would OPTIONALLY enter after receiving an illegal RoboCall. This action may prove to be a VERY satisfying event for the consumer, enabling them to have the last word! This solution would be very efficient, from a consumer’s perspective. Some consumers PLACING calls might have their calls intercepted, and in this case, the consumer would have to use the telephone key pad respond to ONE question – something very similar to how consumers currently respond to a telephone menu system today. There would be no changes to how people with disabilities currently use their phone.

As for the changes needed for this your idea to work, my approach would be to refine Verizon’s Call Intercept model as a small prototype of the final solution, and make changes as they are identified during testing (more details on this below, and in the full proposal document). Scale-up and adoption during a specified project plan would identify any areas that need additional focus over a phased-in implementation.

Given the Verizon model, I believe this can function in today’s marketplace; the project can be phased-in with cooperating phone companies and VoIP gateways, but clearly, if any switching entity refuses to implement the filtering and Validation Testing, telephones on those circuits would not be shielded from RoboCalls. There would be immediate benefits with small-scale deployments, with all customers on these circuits being shielded right away. Certainly, consumer demand would serve as incentives for widespread adoption by all phone companies.

I believe this solution is economically realistic, and small-scale testing via the Verizon model can confirm this. A good approach would be to analyze the Verizon model, and map-out changes needed for a reasonable small-scale test. In parallel, other phone companies would be queried to determine how the refined solution would fit into their landscape &/or if any of the other companies had ideas to improve upon the model. I believe this would enable a fairly rapid small-scale adoption that could be expanded quite quickly.