Telecom companies work with 51 attorneys general to combat robocalls

Major telecom companies across the U.S. are partnering with attorneys general from every state to sign a pact aimed at combating the nationwide surge in robocalls, according to a press release from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

Why it matters: This is the latest attempt to address robocalls plaguing the country, with companies working to prevent the calls on their networks and investigate their origins.

• The Federal Communications Commission reportedly receives more than 200,000 annual complaints about robocalls.

Among other things, the pact asks companies to:

• Give customers the option to block and label robocalls for free.
• Use tech to authenticate the validity of calls.
• Monitor networks for robocall traffic.
• Work with law enforcement to track down scammers.

Yes, but: The pact doesn't "stop illegal calls directly, but is instead designed to bolster efforts to track illegal robocalls." The agreement does not include smaller, internet-based carriers either, says the Wall Street Journal.

Participating companies:

• AT&T
• Verizon Communications
• T-Mobile USA
• Sprint Corp.
• CenturyLink
• Bandwidth
• Charter Communications
• Frontier
• US Cellular
• Windstream
• Comcast
• Consolidated Communications

Go deeper: Where all the robocalls are coming from