Ericsson and Hiya, the U.S-based, leading call performance management cloud, today announced the creation of a new solution called Call Qualification. This will enable 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.

Intelligent learning capabilities mean the solution will constantly be kept up to date with spam, scam and fraud caller details.

In technical terms, the solution will integrate Ericsson’s IP Multimedia System (IMS) – Ericsson’s virtual and cloud-native network function system that delivers communication services to smartphones and other devices – with Hiya’s call protection solution, Hiya Protect. The solution will also work for Ericsson’s Mobile Switching System (MSS).

The joint solution has been designed so any CSP already using Ericsson IMS can quickly and easily activate the new solution and protect its subscribers from spam and fraud calls. It can be activated for new customers by working directly with Ericsson to integrate the solution on their networks.

David Bjore, Head of Solution Area Communication Services at Ericsson, says: “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.”

Alex Algard, CEO and founder at Hiya says: “Spam and fraud calls are a huge problem for both individuals and businesses – and it’s only getting worse as the bad actors making these calls get more sophisticated in their tactics. 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.”

The Problem 

Spam and fraud calls are on the rise across the world, according to Hiya’s 2022 State of the Call Report. These calls have increased 13 percent in 2022 alone, 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 report also highlights another consequence of spam and fraud calls. With more than 90 percent of calls from unidentified callers not being picked up, important genuine unidentified calls – such as from doctors, insurance/banks, customer service/care and schools – are being missed.

Call Qualification, gives CSPs the possibility to provide secure branded calls so that unidentified calls will be qualified and shown in the display for the consumers.

With Hiya’s Adaptive AI self-learning technology, CSPs can recognize and stop new and emerging scams in real-time to stay a step ahead of fraudsters.

Solution availability 

Call Qualification is already in operation at Ericsson’s U.S. innovation research facility – the D-15 Lab – in Silicon Valley.

Following trials, the first live customer deployments of Call Qualification are expected later in 2022.

Network Integration 

Network integration is the most scalable way to protect subscribers from spam and fraud calls as it has no requirement for an application download or configuration. It is fast to deploy, easy to manage, and always up to date.

By integrating with the Ericsson IMS and other network elements, carriers globally can deploy Hiya across their networks for a native user experience on all devices.