Newsroom 2005

July 26, 2005 - Updated August 7, 2005

Update Follows: Partial hoax sent out on the Do Not Call List. The OFSM sent out the following information.

For more info, read on:

All of these points have been summed up in numerous media articles, such as the following from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: There is a grain of truth in the message making it believable, but it's wrong on two counts: Not all cell phone numbers will be listed in the national directory planned for 2006. And telemarketers will not have access to the directory. It is illegal for marketers using auto-dialers - and most do - to call wireless phone numbers.

Here's the truth:

A national directory will be compiled, but numbers will be included on an opt-in basis. If a cell phone subscriber does nothing, the number will not be listed. When the directory is ready, it will be available only as part of the existing 411 directory service, accessed by calling in and asking for a specific number. It will not be published in a book or on the Internet. And it will not be sold to telemarketers.

Cell phone subscribers can list their numbers on the do-not-call registry if they choose, but there is no deadline to get on the list, as the e-mail messages now circulating suggest

Nonetheless, many consumers don't trust the Wireless 411 consortium to uphold their promises, and although Qsent and its clients plan to make the Wireless 411 service available sometime in 2006, its implementation is far from certain as the wireless companies are still contesting proposed legislation which seeks to regulate wireless phone directories.

So, although the gist of the message quoted at the head of this page is correct in alerting consumers to a proposed directory of cell phone numbers, it is misleading in stating that such a directory will "soon be published" (the word "published" implies making a printed directory available, which the wireless consortium maintains they will not do) and in directing readers to sign up with the The National Do Not Call Registry. The latter step will not keep wireless customer listings out of the proposed Wireless 411 database - it will only add their phone numbers to a list of numbers off-limits to most telemarketers, a step which is premature (because the Wireless 411 directory has not yet been implemented) and largely unnecessary (because the Wireless 411 directory information is not supposed to be supplied to telemarketers, and because FCC regulations already in place block the bulk of telemarketing calls to cell phones).

Some versions of the exhortation to cell phone users to add their names to the Do Not Call Registry erroneously state there is a 15 December 2004 deadline for getting listed. Says Lois Greisman, the Federal Trade Commission official who oversees the anti-telemarketing registry: "There is no deadline; there never has been a deadline to register."

However, belief that there might be such a cut-off coupled with the e-mailed alerts themselves have served to multiply many times over the number of registrations. Since the initial wave of sign-ups following the 2003 launch of the list, registrations have come in at the rate of 200,000 new numbers a week. Yet in the final week of November 2004, nearly 1 million new subscribers were added, and in the first week of December 2004, that figure jumped to 2 million. At this point in time, 69 million phone numbers are contained in the registry.

Adding one's cell phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry (even if currently unnecessary) won't have any adverse effect, but customers should be aware of exactly what that action will and will not accomplish.

Updates: Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular Corp. have always been opposed to the proposed cell phone directory, and initial partners Sprint Corp. and Alltel Corp. have since pulled away from the project due to concerns about bad publicity and possible new government regulations. So, as of January 2005, even if the cell phone directory database was compiled as planned, at least 45% of U.S. cell phone numbers wouldn't be included.

In April 2005, USA Today reported that registrations for the national do-not-call list for the week ending April 2 were about double the normal level, and registrations for the following week reached a peak five times higher than average. The newspaper also reiterated what we stated above:

. . . the anxiety is unfounded. First, it's illegal to make sales pitches to wireless phones by using automatic dialers - which is how the vast majority of telemarketing calls are placed. (One reason is that cellular users must pay for incoming calls.)

Also, most of the big wireless carriers have chosen either not to take part in the directory or to put off any plans to do so in light of consumer fears. They say any directory would include only those customers who agreed to participate and that the numbers would not be shared with telemarketers or anyone else. Congress has considered a bill to codify such rules.

Original article: Cell Phone - Do NOT Call List deadline

A REMINDER...22 days from today, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls.

YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS... To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time, and it blocks your number for five (5) years.

If you prefer, you may also visit the following link: You have to be calling from the number you are registering. https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx