The future of phone numbers isn’t getting enough...

an attractive way to make robocalls, using spoof numbers that show up on caller ID, said FCC Chief Technology Officer Henning Schulzrinne. “We'll be swamped by spoofing” if the issue of validating phone calls isn’t dealt with, he said. Whether machines that, like traffic signals now, use phone numbers to operate should be assigned numbers after the transition is another issue, he said. If not, local governments with traffic light systems that use numbers will have to adapt, said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. Issues will be resolved, but transitions often carry problems, said Tom McGarry, a vice president in Neustar’s Advanced Technology Group. Making wireless numbers portable was initially “somewhat of a disaster,” he said. “People’s numbers were being lost, service was being turned off.” Most people assume the nation’s phone number system will always work and pay little heed, but not paying attention to the technical issues involved during the transition could lead to problems gradually popping up “like potholes in the road,” Schulzrinne said.