The FCC allows AT&T, Verizon and other carriers to block more suspected robocalls
Source: The Washington Post
By Tony Romm June 6 at 11:08 AM
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved new rules that could make it easier for AT&T, Verizon and other telecom giants to block suspected spam calls on behalf of their subscribers, a move meant to crack down on the ever-worsening scourge a month after robocallers rang Americans’ phones nearly 5 billion times.
Under the order, telecom carriers now have a legal green-light to enroll consumers in their call-blocking services by default, as opposed to waiting for customers to sign up for such tools on their own. The change would “make it easier for consumers” to get robocall relief, said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, noting that many people often are unaware such technology exists in the first place.
“There is one thing in our country that unites Republicans and Democrats,” Pai said. “They are sick and tired of being bothered by unwanted robocalls.”
Pai’s proposal cleared the commission with bipartisan support, but not without some reservations from Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who expressed concern that the agency did not require AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile to offer their call-blocking services for free. The omission could lead to higher prices on subscribers’ monthly wireless bills, she warned.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/06/06/fcc-allows-att-verizon-other-carriers-block-more-suspected-robocalls/
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/06/06/fcc-allows-att-verizon-other-carriers-block-more-suspected-robocalls/
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In the last two weeks I've had calls from all over the US. Hell just this morning I got one from Grand Prarie, TX, and I immediately knew it was a telemarketer / robodialer. I had one telemarketer from Long Beach call so many times that I actually hard blocked the number direct from Verizon. 
And THERE is the other shoe that has been dropped. They WILL (not "could" ) charge more for this service (and from what I understand, you can already get call blocking for a certain amount of numbers but over that fixed amount is for-cost). So this will be a windfall. 
Also they freely distribute Nomorobo which is an app that recognizes potential spam calls, and blocks them at my request. Works great, I can't complain!
I.e., if they can they will.
I use a digitone call blocker box that has been a godsend. And it was thanks to DU that I got one years ago and recently got the updated model that stores more numbers. I have noticed that in the past year or so, Verizon (which I have for a landline) has been pre-pending the term "Spam?" on many robocall numbers so I immediately add those to my digitone. 
They're finally catching on and dealing with this huge annoyance.
