ZTE leads the way in unwanted call protection

Phone spam from robot calling systems is a major issue in the US and around the world, prompting regulators to look at controlling the problem.

Smartphone maker ZTE is taking a proactive approach and teaming up with caller profile service Hiya to integrate caller identification, spam detection and call blocking into its latest Axon 7 handset.

This makes ZTE the first mobile manufacturer to provide free caller ID and spam protection for consumers in the US to protect themselves from unwanted callers the moment they turn on their device.

"The rise of robocalls is staggering, with more than 10 billion of these calls made to US phones in 2016 alone, and complaints to the FTC up nearly 30 percent since last year," says CEO and founder of Hiya, Alex Algard. "ZTE understands this problem and is approaching it head-on by using our tried and true solution that has been fighting unwanted calls for nearly 10 years."

Axon 7 users will be able to identify unsolicited spam and scam calls, eliminating the fear and annoyance of answering or ignoring a call. They can also block unwanted callers and select an auto-blocking feature that keeps known scam numbers from getting through to a user's phone. By using Hiya's proprietary data set that includes more than 1.5 billion active mobile and landline phone numbers globally, ZTE Axon 7 users will have information at their fingertips to help them know who is on the other end of the line.

"We're excited to team up with Hiya to automatically protect our consumers from the nuisance of robocalls," says ZTE USA's VP of technology planning and partnerships Jeff Yee. "Our Axon 7 is the first in the US to offer spam and scam protection along with a natively integrated caller ID solution for free because we are committed to protecting our consumers and giving them the best phone experience possible."

You can find out more about the Axon 7 on ZTE's website.