T-Mobile working on enhanced caller ID proof-of-concept so you know who is calling even if the caller is not in your contacts

Ever found yourself not picking up calls from an unknown caller? Now, to make you more sure to pick up calls from people outside your contact list, T-Mobile and partners have managed to complete the first-ever wireless call with a new tech called Rich Call Data, reports Fierce Wireless. The call is a part of a proof-of-concept of enhanced Caller ID, and it provides carrier info, the name of the caller, and even the reason for which they are calling you.

T-Mobile and partners are working on a way to show an authenticated caller ID and details like company branding to calls

This proof-of-concept shows more details about the caller to help you choose whether or not you want to pick up. In this case, T-Mobile used Rich Call Data (RCD) tech, combined with authenticated caller ID from the STIR/SHAKEN protocol.

In the test, when the phone number showed up, it also had the T-Mobile logo (as the carrier of the phone number), and details included a caller name, in this case, “Team of Experts” and reason for the call: customer service calling, for example.

T-Mobile’s enhanced caller ID proof-of-concept

Delivering the RCD tech to mobile devices is key to battling scam calls. This technology will increase customer trust in who is calling them and why, said T-Mobile CTO Abdul Saad. He added that working together with other members of the industry can ensure legal, critical, and wanted calls are delivered to customers. And more importantly, customers know who’s calling, so they can choose whether or not to pick up and ditch that scam-call distress.

Due to many robocalls and spam calls in recent years, answering calls from unknown phone numbers has become a nuisance to many people in the US.

Pew Research Center research shows that around 80% of adult Americans don’t pick up the phone to unknown callers. However, not all robocalls are scams, some are legitimate calls from banks, doctors, and pharmacies.

T-Mobile’s proof-of-concept uses RCD, a part of the STIR/SHAKEN framework, a protocol that helps carriers digitally verify the authenticity of phone numbers to prevent spoofed calls.

RCD uses information provided directly from the organization making the call, and relies on a centralized registry (Registered Caller), instead of on a third-party database on the receiving end of the call.

Keep in mind that this is just a proof-of-concept, basically to prove that enhanced caller ID is possible, but T-Mobile has not given any official timeline of when this will be deployed commercially yet.