Bell has announced it has created new artificial intelligence (AI) network technology capable of blocking roughly 120 million more spam calls every month, on top off existing call-blocking techniques, which carriers must adhere to as per the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Bell says it is now blocking about 220 million spam calls from reaching customers every month with universal network-level call-blocking.
“Canadians rely on their phones to stay connected with family, friends, customers and colleagues, and customers at all carriers are justifiably frustrated by the volume of fraud calls they continue to receive,” said Rizwan Jamal, President of Bell Residential and Small Business, in a statement.
Bell says its enhanced call-block system “uses defined sets of typical call characteristics and proprietary algorithms to analyse and identify scam calls, even as fraudsters attempt to employ techniques to defeat the system.” The system is based on AI and machine learning tech.
“Our industry has made solid progress in combatting these scam calls, and Bell’s innovative new AI process would further dramatically reduce the number that get through to customers. We’re ready to take the next step, and while we welcome today’s decision by the CRTC to move the process forward, we eagerly await its approval to launch our trial,” added Jamal.
Bell had asked for the CRTC’s approval to “conduct a 90-day trial to block certain voice calls, received or transmitted from, to, or over its networks, that have been verified to be fraudulent,” last July.
Bell says its system would comply with CRTC policy, as only verifiably fake calls would be blocked. Before blocking takes place, calls are validated through a secondary process, such as cross-referencing through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), which handles matters related to fraudulent calls and complaints.
