Hiya has extended Branded Calling to eligible Vodafone customers in Ireland through Hiya Connect, letting approved businesses display their name before a customer answers. The move builds on Hiya's existing Voice Firewall deployment with Vodafone in Ireland, which already screens fraud and spam calls.

Hiya is a Seattle-based US company specialising in AI-powered voice protection and caller identity, using Vodafone's CAMARA-based Branded Calling platform to confirm business identity before display. Branded Calling is distinct from spam screening in that it identifies the specific business making the call.

The structural driver behind the rollout is consumer call screening. Hiya's 2026 State of the Call report found that 86% of consumers do not answer calls from unknown numbers, leaving calls from banks, healthcare providers and delivery services routinely unanswered.

"Consumers have learned to distrust unfamiliar calls, and they have had good reason to," said Alex Algard, CEO and Founder of Hiya. "By bringing Hiya Connect to Ireland, we are giving consumers more useful information before they answer and helping businesses reach the customers they serve."

"This launch extends Vodafone's Branded Calling capability into Ireland and supports our ambition to build a scalable ecosystem for trusted business calling across our markets," said Johanna Wood, Director of Network APIs at Vodafone.

Hiya, founded in 2016, has raised $28 million in funding to date and employs around 180 people, with estimated annual revenue of $10 million to $50 million (approximately €8.4 million to €42 million), per company data.

Vodafone Group plc (LSE: VOD), the UK-headquartered telecoms operator, said Branded Calling now covers eligible Vodafone devices in Ireland, building on existing Samsung coverage, and runs the capability as an open ecosystem supporting multiple approved providers.

Businesses can register their calling numbers with Hiya to begin branding eligible calls, though financial institutions and government organisations must first complete Secure Branding under the CAMARA-aligned Verified Caller framework before their identity can be displayed.

For the sector, the Ireland rollout marks telecom operators moving beyond fraud blocking toward positive caller identity as a standard feature, positioning verified branded calling as a baseline expectation for legitimate businesses reaching customers by phone.


Source: MarTech Cube / CB Insights