T-Mobile and Verizon announced they have both rolled out the STIR/SHAKEN protocols in an effort to fight robocalls and spam.

The STIR/SHAKEN protocols are designed to provide a way for carriers to verify the origin and authenticity of a call, and then pass that verification on to the carrier on the receiving end of the call, who then verifies it again. If the call is verified by all carriers involved, the recipient phone will display a “Caller Verified” badge.

The first and second largest carriers announced they have both completed their STIR/SHAKEN implementation, offering an additional layer of protection to their customers.

“This latest STIR/SHAKEN milestone is a key part of our overall efforts to combat these unwanted calls,” said Ronan Dunne, EVP and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group. “There is always more to be done, but this is yet another important step for the industry and customers should rest assured that we remain vigilant in our efforts to take down the bad guys and protect them.”

“T-Mobile was first to implement number verification in 2019 because protecting customers against scammers and spammers is one of the most important things we can do as an industry,” said Mike Sievert, CEO T-Mobile. “To date, T-Mobile has protected over 80 million customers from more than 33 billion suspect calls – and counting. With the combination of Number Verification, free Caller ID and the scam blocking tools in Scam Shield, and by working with network providers of all sizes, we are providing the industry’s most comprehensive scam and spam protection for free to all our customers and working every day to make scammers jobs impossible.”

The implementation of the protocol is good news for consumers.