Telemarketer access to cell phone numbers makes consumers edgy
Toolbox
By Sam Diaz Knight Ridder - Published: December 16, 2004
SAN JOSE, Calif. There's been plenty of confusion and a lot of misinformation in recent days as an e-mail works its way around the Internet warning people about a directory of cell-phone numbers that will be released to telemarketers on Jan. 1.
Just so you know: The e-mail information is absolutely false.
What's true: a Portland, Ore., company called Qsent will start compiling cell-phone numbers for a 411 directory system on Jan. 1.
But telemarketers will not have access to the database of cell-phone numbers. There is no deadline to register your number on the federal government's do-not-call list. And your name and number will not be added to the database unless you want it to be and even then, it won't be listed in a book anywhere and certainly won't be handed over to telemarketers, said Greg Keene, chief privacy officer for Qsent.
"It's an opt-in model," Keene said, referring to the marketing practice where consumers ask to participate instead of being forced. "If they do nothing, they don't participate. And even if they choose to participate, they'll never appear in a printed directory."
The cell-phone directory, called the Wireless 411 database, is backed by all the major cell-phone carriers except Verizon Wireless. It intends to incorporate cell-phone numbers into the standard 411 service, which is associated with both landline and cell phones.
Those behind Wireless 411 say there's a growing number of people who have dumped landline phones for cell phones and a large group of small-business operators from plumbers to real estate agents who use only cell phones to communicate with their customers.
Those are the people who will want to be included in the 411 database, said Kathleen Pierz, managing partner and analyst with the Pierz Group in Michigan.
In a survey conducted by her agency earlier this year, 52 percent of the respondents said they would list their cell-phone numbers in a 411 database if there were safeguards to protect their privacy.
"Everybody can think of a time when we wish we had someone's cell-phone number," Pierz said. "Eight million people don't have a home phone anymore, only a mobile phone. Those people are basically not reachable under any circumstance."
And none of the cell-phone service providers is interested in making them reachable if they don't want to be.
"From a carrier's perspective, one of the most valuable assets is the subscriber list," said Michael Amend, spokesman for T-Mobile. "The last thing we want is to have the whole world have that list."
That's why they selected Qsent an independent company to manage the database. When a caller dials 411, the operator will see that a cell-phone number is listed and will be able to connect the caller with the cell number from Qsent's database. The 411 operator will not have access to the entire database, Keene said.
And even if telemarketing groups did get their hands on the list, it's against federal law for telemarketers who use autodialers the most common method to call a cell phone.
Still, Verizon Wireless which was part of the original group that explored the idea of a wireless 411 database has said it will not participate, though it does offer its customers the opportunity to be listed, for a fee, on superpages.com, the company's online directory.
"Our customers have come to us with an expectation of privacy, and we see no public demand or outcry to have this," said Ken Muche, spokesman for Verizon Wireless. "We think privacy is very important and we're not going to participate."
Q. I don't want my cell-phone number to be included in the Wireless 411 database. What do I need to do?
A. Absolutely nothing. Your number will not be included in the directory unless you request it.
Q. What happens on Jan. 1?
A. Cell-phone service providers participating in the Wireless 411 program will begin asking you if you want your number to be listed. Telemarketers will receive no list.
Q. Does this Wireless 411 directory have anything to do with the national do-not-call list? Isn't there a Dec. 15 deadline to include your cell-phone number on the do-not-call register?
A. The do-not-call list and the Wireless 411 list are separate. There is no deadline to register cellular or home landline on the do-not-call list. That can be done any time by visiting www.donotcall.gov or calling (888) 382-1222.
Q. If I decide to be included in the Wireless 411 directory, will I also be listed in the phone book?
A. You will not be listed in the (landline) phone book, and there is no separate book for cell-phone numbers. Wireless numbers are managed by Qsent, not the local phone company. The local companies which print the books wouldn't have access to wireless numbers included in the 411 directory.
Q. I'm a Verizon Wireless customer and use my cell phone for a mobile business. How can I get my number listed in the 411 database?
A. You can't. Verizon Wireless is not participating but will let you list your cell-phone number in its online directory superpages.com for a fee.
Q. I'm a Sprint PCS customer. Will I have to pay to have my number listed in the Wireless 411 directory?
A. No. There is never a fee to include or remove your cell-phone number from the database.
Q. When will my number be available through 411 if I decide to let my carrier include it?
A. Qsent will spend the first half of the year compiling the list and hopes to have it on the 411 system by midyear.
(c) 2004, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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