Ericsson, Hiya develop new solution for CSPs to protect subscribers from spam and fraud calls

Ericsson, in partnership with Hiya, has developed a new solution for communications service providers (CSPs) to identify incoming spam and fraud calls attempting to connect to any of its subscriber base at the network level and block the call before it reaches the subscriber.

According to Hiya's 2022 State of the Call Report, spam and fraud calls have rapidly increased globally, In 2022 alone, these calls have increased 13 percent, with mobile subscribers currently receiving an average of 14 unwanted calls per month. About 25 percent of consumers reported losing money to a phone scam, with an average loss of USD 542 per victim.

The new solution, called Call Qualification, will integrate Ericsson's IP Multimedia System (IMS) - a virtual and cloud-native network function system that delivers communication services to smartphones and other devices - with Hiya's call protection solution, Hiya Protect.

"Spam, fraud and nuisance calls are a frustration that almost every person with a phone can relate to. It is certainly an area that is likely to positively impact subscriber satisfaction and customer loyalty if they can be stopped. That's exactly what we, in partnership with Hiya, are aiming for CSPs to achieve with Call Qualification," said David Bjore, Head of Solution Area Communication Services at Ericsson, in a statement.

The first customer deployments of the new solution are expected later in 2022. CSPs already using Ericsson IMS can quickly and easily activate the new solution and protect their subscribers from nuisance calls. The solution will also work for Ericsson's Mobile Switching System (MSS).

Ericsson said that the solution will constantly be kept up to date with spam, scam and fraud caller details.

"Through our partnership with Ericsson, CSPs can instantly access and deploy Hiya's most advanced, AI-powered call protection features worldwide, giving subscribers a superior voice call experience and more trust in the network," said Alex Algard, CEO and founder at Hiya.