It took three years, but Verizon is finally catching up to T-Mobile on the fraud protection front
Verizon's "new" Branded Calling ID tool sounds an awful lot like T-Mobile's pretty old Branded Caller ID technology... and third-party apps like Truecaller.
To better combat fraud attempts, scams, and spam calls, as well as help businesses get through to their customers (and potential customers) easier, Verizon is ready to implement a key new consumer tool... that the competition adopted a long time ago.
What is Branded Calling ID?
As the name suggests, it's a way for Big Red to "brand" your incoming calls to try to increase answer rates, improve customer satisfaction, and of course, boost the profits of businesses willing to participate in this nationwide new program.
That sounds like a win-win-win situation for all parties involved, although it certainly doesn't sound very innovative, providing pretty much the same core features and capabilities you'd get from an app like Truecaller. We're talking caller identification and prominent business logos to make it as easy as possible to immediately tell if picking up your phone might be worth your time, but also call reasons.
Branded Calling ID looks like a very neat solution to a bigger and bigger problem for more and more people in the US. | Image Credit -- Verizon
Now that's an interesting spin on the traditional caller ID concept, although the utility of that particular section of the Branded Calling ID (BCID) tool will probably greatly depend on how specific and honest each Verizon partner will be in listing their reasons for calling you upfront. After all, you can't really expect a business to disclose straight off the bat that they'll attempt to increase your monthly bill with new services you don't necessarily need, right?
Still, that sounds like a feature that could save you a lot of hassle in (and ahead of) a lot of conversations, especially as the CTIA claims the call reasons, enterprise phone numbers, caller display names, and logos will all be "thoroughly vetted by Authorized Partners to ensure caller authenticity and legitimacy."
Do you expect Verizon's Branded Calling ID tech to make a difference?
Absolutely
25%
I... hope so
25%
Nah, I'm still going to use a third-party app
25%
Nah, I'm still going to ignore all my incoming calls
25%
Now that sounds promising, although the most convenient thing about BCID is probably that it's not an actual app you need to download and install yourself, but something that Verizon will automatically enable to keep subscribers safe(r) from potential fraud and spam.
What are T-Mobile and AT&T doing in the same field?
In short, they're doing very similar things, but they've actually been doing them for quite some time now. T-Mobile even partnered with the same CTIA wireless association as Verizon to roll out an almost identically named Branded Caller ID solution to both everyday customers and business partners... all the way back in early 2022, which clearly doesn't put Big Red in the best light.
AT&T, meanwhile, joined forces with TransUnion last year to launch what the carrier called the "industry's first in-network branded call display with logos", and as you can imagine, that tool is not very different from Branded Calling ID and Branded Caller ID in either its general purpose or specific implementation.
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T-Mobile's Branded Caller ID tool looks extremely similar to Verizon's Branded Calling ID solution. | Image Credit -- T-Mobile
Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T clearly all want to regain control over the scammer and spammer plague that's fallen on the American population in recent years, not (just) because they care about your money and well-being, but (also) because you've stopped answering phone calls, making it hard for legitimate businesses to continue boosting their profits.
Apparently, 80 percent of Americans "generally" don't answer when an unknown phone number calls, which... sounds about right, but it's a number the nation's industry-leading mobile network operators are trying hard to reduce for fairly obvious reasons. Like I said, win-win-win scenario for carriers, their business partners, and "normal" consumers, at least in theory.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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