So the FCC plans to vote next month on a rule requiring carriers to advise callers when their calls have been blocked based on “reasonable analytics.”

On the one hand that’s fine, I guess. But the carriers should NEVER have been allowed to block calls without notification to begin with. That’s just insane.

And the fact we will all need to wait another year before Sip code 603+ to be in use is cold comfort.

But, slightly better than nothing I suppose.

What we really need is IMMEDIATE action on the R.E.A.C.H. petition to STOP illegal call/sms blocking and mislabeling— and to dismantle TCR. This is URGENT.

Every day I am hearing from another small business telling me that call and text blocking– particularly text blocking– is threatening to (or is–wait or it) putting them out of business. TCR is most of the problem, but the aggregators and carriers — including phantom voicemails the carriers are apparently using to “block” calls while still charging for the traffic– blocking on the basis of content is a massive problem.

So let’s back up and remind everyone of what’s at stake.

There are actually two separate issues, but they fall into the same basic concept of carriers blocking communications.

First, is carrier VOICE call blocking based on “reasonable analytics.” This was first authorized back in 2018 and there have now been a ton of revisions to a safeharbor created to allow carriers to violate section 201 of the Communications Act–which basically requires carriers to act as “common carriers” and connect all phone traffic.

As already noted, carriers have been allowed to block calls for years now based on an unspecific black box of requirements that, as far as I can tell, have resulted in BILLIONS of LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL phone calls being blocked essentially at the FCC’s invitation with ZERO recourse.

I talked to a client YESTERDAY so was having so much trouble getting calls to go through he bought his own carrier operator. Plus he has to cycle through thousands of DIDs a day to avoid his numbers being labeled. As he tells me: “If you call more than 20 times a day from a DID they label you as spam. More than 40 they label you as scam.”

The carriers figure if you are calling at volume then your phone number must be important to your business. As soon as they know that they figure you will pay them to white label your number and they will block and label you until they pay up.

DISGUSTING.

Requiring the carriers to advise you (finally) when they block is step one–this should have been done years ago, of course– but so what if there’s no required redress?

And there isn’t.

Because the FCC has never said what can and cannot be blocked to begin with. That’s part of what the R.E.A.C.H. petition is trying to fix.

But that’s just the first problem and probably the smaller of the two.

The second problem is SMS blocking, and this is even more painful and the FCC has intentionally made it harder for businesses to address. And you REALLY need to understand this part– because it is nuts.

Also back in 2018 the FCC clarified that SMS isn’t a telecommunication service it is an “information service.” Because, you see, SMS isn’t a communication function its a storage function. You’re not talking to someone else when you send a message you’re just transferring a data set.

Crazy, absurd, tortured logic– and one of the worst rulings to come out of the FCC at that time.

The classification of SMS as a Title III information service was done specifically to allow carriers to block SMS. It was believed at the time that the carriers had successfully deployed SMS blocking already and the FCC didn’t want to upset the apple cart by stripping text blocking authority away from the carriers.

But they did.

By removing the requirement of the carriers to faithfully transmit all SMS messages it allowed the carriers to determine their own terms of use on content providers (people sending text messages) including declaring that certain content just wouldn’t be allowed on their networks.

Total violation of the First Amendment. A licensing scheme of the highest order.

It gets worse.

The carriers have conspired (anti-trust?) to only accept traffic registered through a company called The Campaign Registry. TCR is foreign owned and has both tremendous power and visibility in the telecom ecosystem right now.

TCR literally has the ability to prevent any business or political campaign from sending high volume text messages. And it is using that power to silence people based on CONTENT. And the aggregators are afraid of TCR rejections so they are not even submitting campaigns to TCR to begin with (just like they are blocking SMS and calls that they think the carriers won’t like.)

Just yesterday I was told of a campaign that an aggregator would not even submit to TCR for approval because the political message was “polarizing and considered offensive [to some].”

Prior restraints on free political speech are literally actively ongoing. It is a massive problem.

How big of a problem?

How about a small business that just shut down because it could not get 10DLC access. In the words of the owner:

To give you some background, we ran our business for five successful years using P2P texting – a model that allowed us to deliver highly responsive and personalized service. Our customer service was second to none, and we consistently met the high expectations of our clients. However, the introduction of 10DLC upended everything.

Here’s what happened…

Regulatory Impact:
The 10DLC regulations brought with them a burdensome, protracted registration process. We were initially advised by our provider that unregistered traffic would soon be phased out (multiple times over the course of 2 years), prompting us to urge our clients to register promptly. Unfortunately, this promise was repeatedly reversed. Each time we were told to push for registration with an imminent cutoff, the timeline shifted unexpectedly. These delays were not trivial – they were lengthy enough to derail critical campaigns, especially for political clients with tight election deadlines.

Client Impact:
The prolonged and unpredictable registration procedures forced our clients into a corner. Many of our smaller clients, who relied on our nimble P2P texting to engage with voters, found themselves unable to complete registration in time, rendering them unable to run their campaigns effectively. Worse yet, several larger clients, seeking more stable and predictable service, migrated to vendors who seemed to have insider information or more streamlined processes in place. The impact on our reputation was severe, despite our best efforts to support our clients every step of the way.

The Ultimate Consequence:
After years of success, these cumulative issues made it impossible for us to maintain our business model. We prided ourselves on agility and excellent customer service, but the excruciating delays and inconsistent guidance around 10DLC left us with no viable path forward. This week, we made the difficult decision to close our doors.

Done.

Small business vaporized.

By a process that was never legal to begin with.

Its nuts.

And here’s the worst part– it doesn’t work. In fact, SMS spam has gotten WORSE since TCR took over its little role as censorship king of America.

Now how is that possible?

Before there was very little SMS spam. The FCC takes the reigns off the carriers and they put a foreign-owned company in charge of network access and now there is a ton of SMS spam.

Hmmmmm.

I wonder why that is?

Dear FCC:

I know you have A TON going on– and thank you very much for your efforts staying one-to-one–but we need a public comment period on the R.E.A.C.H. petition to stop all of this right away.

Thank you.