TNS and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Publish Concept Paper on Branded Calling and Impact on Consumer Behavior

Transaction Network Services (TNS), in partnership with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), today published a concept paper on branded calling and its impact on consumer behavior.

Co-authored by industry expert Dr. Eric Burger and his Research Assistant Rishabh Rastogi, the TNS-sponsored report "Issues for Measuring Call Branding on Consumer Behavior and Economic Outcomes", details the importance of STIR/SHAKEN and data showing the positive impact branded calls can have on businesses and the customer experience. A webinar will be hosted on May 4, with representatives from TNS, CCI and Virginia Tech, to discuss insights from the paper.

With the rise of unwanted robocalls in recent years, businesses have struggled to engage their customers. The report, however, concludes that branded calling could help businesses reduce unwanted calls and improve the customer experience, enabling those organizations to better manage their reputation.

"It has been a privilege to partner with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative on this concept paper," said Jim Tyrrell, Vice President of Enterprise Product Management for TNS' Communications Market business. "Unwanted robocalls have been detrimental to enterprises across the country and we're thankful CCI has recognized the importance of the situation. We wanted to partner with Dr. Burger to explore the powerful potential of branded calling in restoring trust to voice calling, and we support recommendations made in the report on how future research efforts can be successful in proving the value of branded calling to all stakeholders."

Dr. Burger is the Research Director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and a Research Professor of Computer Science and Public & International Affairs at Virginia Tech. Throughout his career, Dr. Burger has researched 5G, VoIP and real-time interactive multimedia services and secure communications and prior to Virginia Tech was the Research Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He has held posts at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Mr. Rastogi currently serves as Dr. Burger's Graduate Research Assistant.

To further discuss the key takeaways from the concept paper, Dr. Burger will participate in a webinar with Jim Tyrrell and Shelley Dunagan, Senior Director of TNS Enterprise Branded Calling, hosted on May 4. Sign up for the webinar here.

The concept paper is available to download here.

About TNS

TNS, a market leader in call analytics and robocall mitigation, provides an end-to-end ecosystem for protecting and restoring trust in voice. TNS addresses the full needs of wireless and wireline operators globally with TNS Call Guardian^® the industry-leading call analytics solution that protects subscribers from high risk and nuisance robocalls. In addition, its Enterprise Branded Calling solution is the core component of its Identity Analytics Suite that is taking the next step in enriching consumer engagement making voice calling an integral part of an omnichannel customer experience program. TNS analyzes over one billion call events across more than 500 operators every single day, enabling carriers to identify more unwanted robocalls. For additional information visit: https://tnsi.com/resource-center/communications/.

About the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative is a statewide network of 41 Virginia public universities and colleges and includes more than 300 researchers focused on cybersecurity, autonomous systems, and intelligence. CCI's goal is to make Virginia a leader in cybersecurity workforce development, innovation, and research. Virginia Tech plays a leadership role in the initiative, serving as the headquarters for the CCI Hub and as the lead institution for the CCI Southwest Virginia region. For more information visit: https://cyberinitiative.org/