From October1, the landscape of telephone communications in France will undergo a significant change with the mandatory activation of the Number Authentication Mechanism (MAN). This new obligation, stemming from the 2020 Naegelen Law, marks a new stage in the regulation of telephone canvassing and the fight against fraudulent calls.
It requires all French operators to apply the Number Authentication Mechanism (MAN), making it mandatory for all calls in France to be authenticated.
Objective? To continue the active fight against illegal canvassing, as consumers complain massively about these abusive canvassing practices. This obligation will therefore have a considerable impact on customer services and call centers generating outbound call campaigns. As the deadline approaches, it is essential to understand the implications of this new regulation, both for telephone operators and for companies, particularly call centers.
Since the law was passed in 2020, operators, accompanied byArcep, have been involved in defining the technical specifications for MAN and its deployment on their networks. As a result, MAN activation with automatic interruption of unauthenticated calls will be fully effective on October 1, 2024. MAN will be rolled out progressively from October1 to October 31, 2024.
Via this system, operators will have to :
This active fight against illegal cold calling is a challenge that only a few countries are taking up. In fact, France is currently the only country to go so far in protecting consumers, by providing for the automatic disconnection of incorrectly authenticated or unauthenticated calls.
Olivier Delclos, Director of Internet, Data, Press, Posts and Users atArcep, explains: “The MAN raises the level of technical standards for the exchange of calls between operators, in the same way as the widespread adoption of “https” on the web. It won’t prevent all telephone abuse and fraud. But it’s a first step towards increasing user protection, and will help limit the nuisance caused by the most crude forms of number theft.
By 2023, regulations had been tightened to protect consumers from abusive canvassing:
The activation of the Number Authentication Mechanism, or MAN, next October is designed to reinforce this protection and guarantee that telephone calls made in France actually come from the numbers displayed. The system will authenticate the legitimacy of the telephone numbers used to make calls. The aim is to prevent growing fraudulent practices such as number spoofing. Spoofing enables fraudsters to display a false number on the recipient’s screen, with the aim of deceiving him or her.
How does it work? At the moment of the call, a series of technical protocols (the STIR SHAKEN system) are used to detect whether the number displayed is indeed the one corresponding to the issuing entity. Verification is performed via a digital signature system, based on certificates issued by a certification authority. This signature is attached to each call in the form of metadata. The authentication process relies on the identification of the originating operator, who is responsible for signing the call and the information transmitted. When the call reaches the recipient’s operator, the latter checks the validity of the signature against the original certificates. If the signature is valid, the call is routed normally. If not, the recipient’s operator will reject the call or flag it as unauthenticated, or even label it as potentially fraudulent.
The introduction of MAN imposes a series of strict obligations on telephone operators in France. From October 1, 2024, all operators will be required to :
The technology imposed by MAN therefore requires a robust infrastructure and coordination between the various players in the telecoms sector, to ensure that signature certificates are securely managed and validation systems run smoothly. Operators must therefore invest in network infrastructure upgrades and digital certificate management systems.
Operators are not the only ones affected by these new regulations.
Companies, especially those with call centers, also need to ensure that their systems are compatible with MAN. They may need to update existing telephony systems, or even invest in new technologies. In addition, they need to work closely with their telephone operators to ensure that all outgoing calls are duly authenticated. While these new obligations are restrictive, they also have their virtues! Indeed, call centers are often perceived by consumers as sources of intrusive and abusive canvassing. Activating MAN will enhance their credibility by guaranteeing that the calls they make are authenticated. What’s more, for outgoing calls, authentication guarantees that calls will not be blocked or labeled as fraudulent by the recipient’s operators: a positive point for maintaining effective communication with customers. On the other hand, failure to comply with these new obligations could drastically reduce the effectiveness of telephone campaigns, resulting in the loss of potential customers and damage to the company’s reputation.
For many months, Eloquant has been proactively addressing these new obligations, delegating the tasks of signing outgoing calls and validating incoming calls to SFR COLT and Bouygues Telecom. Eloquant is therefore ready for this major change to the French public telephone network. But beware! As the APNF points out, there are bound to be operators in France (and therefore corporate customers) who will not yet be compliant by October1. The risk of interrupted calls that are not properly authenticated or signed could therefore persist for some time.
The activation of the Number Authentication Mechanism marks a major turning point in the regulation of telephone communications in France. This initiative aims not only to protect consumers against abuse and fraud, but also to strengthen confidence in telephone communications. For operators and businesses alike, this transition represents a technical and organizational challenge. But it can also be an opportunity to stand out for the quality and transparency of their communications! Do you want to ensure that your outgoing call campaigns are fully compliant? Guarantee the productivity and efficiency of your customer service teams? Eloquant can support your project with its 100% legally compliant Customer Experience Cloud platform:
Are you intrigued? Need to know more before taking the plunge?
By guaranteeing that the numbers used for your outbound calls are authenticated, MAN will ultimately improve the performance of your campaigns, as recipients will be more likely to answer calls whose origin has been verified. Nevertheless, some telephony systems, notably VoIP, may require technical adjustments to comply with MAN requirements. In addition, during the first few weeks, if the authentication process malfunctions, this could lead to delays or failures in call delivery.
Telephone operators will be responsible for implementing this mechanism. This new obligation should therefore not require any major technical intervention on your part. However, we advise you to check with your telecom service provider whether any specific configurations are required for your telephony systems, particularly if you use a VoIP system for outgoing calls.
Your campaigns will be more effective, as your recipients will no longer be subjected to abusive or even fraudulent canvassing. Your customers will be more inclined to answer your calls, since they’ll be sure that the number displayed is genuine. What’s more, they’ll be in a better frame of mind to interact with your advisors through a positive perception of your company.
If MAN is not activated by your operator, there is a real risk that your outgoing calls will be blocked. This could considerably reduce the effectiveness of your outgoing call campaigns and the productivity of your customer service department. What’s more, the absence of the MAN makes your numbers more vulnerable to usurpation by fraudsters. Phishing incidents can then damage your company’s reputation, and harm your customer relations.
If this happens, it’s crucial to react quickly. Inform your telephone operator immediately so they can investigate the situation. Also, communicate with your customers to alert them to fraudulent calls and reinforce good security practices, such as never divulging sensitive information over the phone. You might also consider adjusting your communication campaigns to include tips on recognizing genuine calls from your company. These questions and answers will help companies and their customer services to understand the importance of MAN for secure communications, and to optimize their outbound call campaign management while protecting their customer relationships.
A unified, centralized platform to manage, orchestrate, measure and analyze conversations with your customers. Listen to the voice of your customers and act in real time on the drivers of satisfaction or dissatisfaction to improve the Customer Experience.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest news!
Copyright 2024 | Eloquant | Realized by La Quincaillerie
