A business call can be technically connected and still fail commercially if the person on the other end does not trust the number. In a voice environment shaped by spam, spoofing and automated fraud, trusted communications have become closely connected to customer engagement and business performance.
This is where technologies such as STIR/SHAKEN become important. By creating a framework for authenticating caller identity, they give voice providers a technical foundation for establishing trust across interconnected networks. Peeringhub focuses on this trust infrastructure through its STIR/SHAKEN Certificate Authority services, certificate management tools and developer-focused automation. (Peering Hub)
1. Trust Has Become a Business Requirement for Voice
The first challenge is getting the call answered
Voice remains valuable for sales, customer service, healthcare notifications, financial services and many other business functions. But customers increasingly screen calls before deciding whether to answer.
Hiya's 2026 State of the Call report found that 86% of unknown calls go unanswered, based on research involving more than 12,000 consumers across six countries. Hiya also reports that 73% of consumers believe businesses should identify themselves when calling. (Hiya)
That creates a simple business equation:
Unknown identity → hesitation → missed connection
For a sales organization this can mean fewer conversations with prospects. For a healthcare provider it can mean an unanswered appointment reminder. For customer support it can mean a customer ignoring a legitimate callback.
Trust therefore starts before the conversation begins.
Authentication provides technical evidence
STIR/SHAKEN allows an originating provider to cryptographically sign caller information so a terminating provider can verify it. Twilio describes the framework as creating a chain of trust for telephony identity. (Twilio)
Authentication does not guarantee that every call will be answered. It provides a verifiable identity signal that can become part of broader call trust and reputation systems.
2. Trusted Identity Can Protect the Value of Outbound Calls
A legitimate call still needs to look legitimate
Businesses invest heavily in sales teams, contact centers and customer communication systems. The cost of those operations does not end when a call is placed.
If the recipient does not recognize or trust the incoming identity the investment behind that call may never reach its intended audience.
Consider a sales team making 5,000 outbound calls each week.
If customers consistently ignore unfamiliar numbers the problem is not necessarily the sales script or the product. The first barrier may be the identity presented on the phone.
This is why trusted communications should be viewed as part of the broader customer acquisition and engagement process.
Contact centers provide a clear example
Twilio documents STIR/SHAKEN use cases for outbound contact centers and sales dialers where authenticated caller identity can support call trust and help businesses reach customers. (Twilio)
The important distinction is that authentication supports the infrastructure behind trust. It does not independently determine whether a call will be labeled spam or answered.
That decision can involve additional analytics and reputation systems.
3. Trust-Based Communications Can Improve Customer Experience
Customers need context before answering
A customer receiving a call from an unfamiliar number has limited information.
Is it their bank?
A delivery company?
A healthcare provider?
A salesperson?
A scammer?
Trusted communication technologies can provide additional identity information that helps reduce this uncertainty.
Hiya's research illustrates the challenge clearly: 86% of unknown calls go unanswered. Its business-facing solutions also emphasize caller identity and branded information as mechanisms for helping customers recognize legitimate businesses. (Hiya)
Think of caller identity as the digital equivalent of a business card
A business card tells someone who you are before the conversation starts.
Trusted caller identity performs a similar function within the voice channel.
The technical infrastructure behind it may involve STIR/SHAKEN authentication, certificates, verification services and in some environments additional branded calling systems.
The result is not simply a more secure call. It can create a more informative first interaction.
4. Stronger Trust Infrastructure Can Support Operational Efficiency
Authentication needs more than one component
A trusted communication environment depends on several interconnected functions.
These can include:
Caller identity
Number authorization
Attestation
PASSporT generation
Digital certificates
Certificate repositories
Verification
Monitoring
If these functions are managed separately the operational workload can increase quickly.
Peeringhub provides tools across several parts of this infrastructure. Its platform includes a STIR/SHAKEN Certificate Authority service, Identity Header Parser, Certificate Inspector and STI-CR certificate hosting. (Peering Hub)
Its Identity Header Parser can expose attestation, origination, destination, x5u, algorithm and signature status. Its Certificate Inspector can examine certificate content or URLs and return information including validity dates and OCN context. (Peering Hub)
Better visibility can shorten investigations
Imagine an authenticated call fails verification.
Without diagnostic visibility an engineer may need to inspect multiple systems.
With an identity-focused workflow the investigation can move through a defined sequence:
Identity header → PASSporT → certificate URL → certificate → validity → signature
That does not eliminate every troubleshooting challenge but it gives teams a more structured way to isolate the problem.
5. Trust Creates Value Across Different Business Use Cases
Sales and marketing
Sales teams depend on reaching prospects.
An authenticated and properly managed calling identity can become one component of a broader call reputation strategy.
For example a sales organization may combine STIR/SHAKEN authentication with number management and caller reputation monitoring to understand how its outbound traffic is being treated.
The goal is not simply to place more calls.
It is to improve the probability that legitimate communications are recognized as legitimate.
Customer service
Customer service teams often call customers who may not have saved the company's number.
A recognizable identity can reduce uncertainty before the customer decides whether to answer.
This becomes particularly relevant for callbacks after support tickets, service requests or missed interactions.
Healthcare and financial services
A healthcare provider may need to reach a patient about an appointment.
A financial institution may need to contact a customer about an account issue.
In these situations the cost of an unanswered call can extend beyond a missed sales opportunity.
Trusted identity can provide an additional layer of confidence around the communication channel.
6. Trust Is Becoming an Ecosystem Rather Than a Single Technology
STIR/SHAKEN is one layer of the trust model
It is important not to treat STIR/SHAKEN as a complete answer to every call reputation problem.
STIR/SHAKEN provides caller identity authentication within its applicable framework. Other systems can use authentication information alongside additional reputation and behavioral signals.
Twilio explains that STIR/SHAKEN attestation can be an input for call analytics systems that determine whether a call may appear as verified or spam or may receive other treatment. (Twilio)
This creates a broader architecture:
Authentication → verification → reputation → presentation → customer decision
Each layer addresses a different part of the trust problem.
Other providers take broader approaches
TransNexus offers STIR/SHAKEN infrastructure covering certificates, certificate repositories, authentication and verification services and call validation. Its platform also includes capabilities such as branded calling and rich call data. (TransNexus)
Twilio embeds STIR/SHAKEN into its broader programmable communications platform with Trust Hub onboarding and API-based workflows. Its onboarding process connects business profiles, phone numbers and SHAKEN/STIR Trust Products. (Twilio)
Peeringhub takes a more focused approach around the certificate and trust-management layer. Its current platform combines certificate authority services with certificate inspection, Identity Header analysis, certificate hosting, OCN lookup and developer automation. (Peering Hub)
These approaches address overlapping trust requirements through different architectures.
7. Measuring the Business Impact of Trusted Communications
Start with operational metrics
Trust should ultimately connect to measurable business outcomes.
Businesses and telecom providers can examine metrics such as:
Answer rates
Call completion
Spam labeling
Callback rates
Customer engagement
Authentication success
Certificate availability
Authentication failure rates
Number reputation
Customer complaints
The exact metrics will depend on the business model and available data.
Connect trust metrics to commercial outcomes
Suppose a contact center notices that its answer rate is falling.
The investigation should not automatically assume that STIR/SHAKEN is the cause.
Teams can examine multiple variables including number reputation, calling patterns, authentication status, customer targeting and presentation.
This is where trusted communications become a business discipline rather than a purely technical project.
Hiya's 2026 research demonstrates the commercial relevance of the problem. Its report states that unanswered calls can affect businesses because consumers increasingly avoid unidentified numbers. (Hiya)
The objective is therefore to establish a measurable connection between identity → trust → engagement → business outcome.
Conclusion: Trust Can Become a Business Advantage
Business communication does not create value simply because a network successfully connects two endpoints. The recipient must also be willing to engage with the communication.
That makes trust an increasingly important part of the voice experience.
STIR/SHAKEN provides a technical foundation for authenticating caller identity while certificate infrastructure helps establish the cryptographic trust chain. Additional reputation and caller-identification technologies can then build on that foundation.
For telecom providers the opportunity is to treat trust as an integrated operational capability rather than a standalone compliance task.
Peeringhub supports this infrastructure through its STIR/SHAKEN Certificate Authority platform, certificate lifecycle capabilities, Identity Header Parser, Certificate Inspector, STI-CR hosting and developer-focused tools. (Peering Hub)
Explore Peeringhub to build a stronger foundation for trusted voice communications and create an authentication workflow designed for modern telecom operations!
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