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Ribbon Partners With Peerless Network to Thwart Robocalling

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In a concerted effort to boost caller ID authentication, Ribbon Communications Inc. (RBBN - Free Report) has deployed an innovative technology in collaboration with telecom disruptor — Peerless Network. The advanced technology has been introduced with the help of SHAKEN/STIR authentication standard in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”).

SHAKEN/STIR are acronyms for Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited standards. This technology provides the best available information to make it easier for telephone companies and consumers to decide what calls they want to allow or block, thereby combating spoofed calls. It also makes it easier to trace a call to its original source.

The regulatory framework consists of advanced software functionality and verification tools, developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force and Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions that helps in the identification of robocalls. With Peerless Network’s new offering, CallTrue, the frequency of unwanted calls has also reduced. These unsolicited phone calls typically use a pre-recorded message to market various products and services or serve reminders for pharmacy visits or debt payments. Using an automated dialing system, these calls are made without customer consent and are often viewed as irritants as customers are bombarded with thousands of such calls on a day.

In addition to infringement on customer privacy, robocalls try to siphon off personal data to con individuals. This eventually leads to scams, robbing unsuspecting customers of their hard-earned money.

The FCC has proposed a couple of measures to end the unsolicited robocalls. These include creation of a national database of disconnected phone numbers that are reassigned to other users to avoid dialing the wrong customers repeatedly and enabling telecom service providers to block and filter text messages deemed as spam. The FCC has also demanded a digital validation by carriers to curb this menace. Ribbon Communications’ collaboration with Peerless Network is a positive step in this regard.

The stock has lost 53.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 23.9%.



Ribbon Communication currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Perficient, Inc. (PRFT - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and CSG Systems International, Inc. (CSGS - Free Report) and CACI International Inc (CACI - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Perficient surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 10.3%.

CSG Systems surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 10.5%.

CACI surpassed estimates thrice in the preceding four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 7.1%.

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