Call blocking
Northwestel continues to work to keep up with our customers’ ever-changing communications needs in order to provide the best experience possible. In an effort to do this, Northwestel is implementing Universal Network-Level Call Blocking (UNCB).
UNCB will help to protect Canadians against certain types of unsolicited calls by blocking calls when Call display information is blatantly inaccurate.
What calls are blocked?
- Calls with unassigned North American area codes (e.g., 005-143-4561, 000-000-0000, 111-111-1111 or 123-456-7890).
- North American calls that contain less than 10 digits (e.g., 0000, 3256 or 45753).
This does not include 310-XXXX calls.
- North American calls that have more than 10 digits (e.g., 905-243-4561-1234).
- This does not include long distance calls that begin with the number 1 (e.g., 1 800 223-1234 or 1 613 245-1234 are considered 10-digit numbers and will not be blocked).
- Calls originating internationally with more than 15 digits (e.g., 33-131-234-234-456-234, 44-131-234-234-456-234).
These telephone numbers often encompass various types of unwanted, unsolicited, spoofed, or spam phone calls, such as illegitimate marketing (e.g., free cruise offers), and typically originate from telemarketers not registered with the National Do Not Call List (NDNCL).
A “spoofed” number can appear as a string of digits, such as 000-000-0000, a random number, or the number of a company, person or government entity. Telemarketers making sales calls to customers in Canada have an obligation to accurately identify themselves. Callers who use technology to spoof their Call display with inaccurate, false or misleading information violate this requirement.
UNCB should help reduce the number of unsolicited calls received by Canadians, although it will not block all unsolicited calls.
When will UNCB be implemented?
Northwestel will implement UNCB starting November 4, 2019. Please note that other Canadian telecom service providers could do so at any time before the CRTC’s deadline.
