Cell Phone Directory Coming Soon

applemasker writes "According to this story on Yahoo News via the L.A. Times, an upcoming cell phone directory which supposedly includes 75% of all cell users is in the works. Some people are already receiving cell phone spam and telemarketing calls. Worse yet, unless you opt-out at the beginning of your contract, some carriers such as T-Mobile can gladly hand over your info (though the article says that T-Mobile is changing the contract now). Some good news though, Verizon Wireless has said that it will not share its customer lists. Still, maybe it's time to submit your cell number to the Do Not Call List if you haven't done so already." We had a related story last year.

Do Not Call List

I just assumed the Do Not Call list was to apply to cell phones too, so when it came time to enroll, every number in my household, cell and not, became a "Do Not Call" number.

Re:Do Not Call List

The Do Not Call list could not have applied to cell phones because previously, telemarketers were barred from calling any phone where the receiver of the call could be charged for it (i.e. cell phone minutes). I guess that law has changed since inception, or otherwise, the cell phone companies have found a way to make incoming telemarketer calls "free."

Conversely (and perhaps slightly O/T), I've always been suspicious of the Do Not Call list, because if you consider it, on one hand it's like a free list that unscrupulous telemarketers can get and spam, and on the other hand, the "gub-mint" can link you email address to your phone number. (We can't call but we can sure spam that email account!) Of course you can get around it by using a quick free e-mail (like yahoo or hotmail) but who do you know outside of us savvy /.'ers, who probably have "junk" accounts anyway, would go through the trouble of setting one up just for this?

Re:Do Not Call List

I still get sales calls on phone sometimes, they say that they are "surveys" and once an extermination service called just "because someone in the area needed their service". Those kind of calls are allowed by the DNC list. Trust me you will see more and more of them and with cell phone number avaiable, they might be hitting them hard. Right now telemarketers have a good list of people who will take the time to listen, but cell phones are a fresh market. Heck there are many teenagers and young adult who only use cell phones, they will want to tap that market. If the value of this fresh market is judged by the telemarketers to be greater than the costs (fines), we'll be seeing bunches of calls on our once private numbers, at least until it levels out.

I still use the same old line that I used before the DNC list "I do not ever, ever respond in any way to unsolisited telephone calls of any type. Please take me off your list and I hope that you have a nice day ".

Expensive

I thought telemarketing to a cell phone was illegal, due to the fact that you are charged for both incoming and outgoing calls on a cell phone. As I understood it, it's similar to the anti-junk fax laws, which were put in place because you pay for the ink and paper that is wasted.

Re:Expensive

it is, read more here: How To Make A Telemarketer Cry (or, Suing Bozos for Fun & Profit) - http://www.panix.com/~eck/telemarket.html

Re:Expensive

And here's the official FCC link [fcc.gov] to the TCPA which details that it is illegal to call not only a cell phone, but also hospitals or any service where someone is charged for the call. Read. Learn. Fight back.

Re:Expensive

What if they call you on nights or weekends when you happen to have free minutes? I bet the law doesn't consider that, but a telemarketer could make a good argument in court with that defense...

Roaming

How can a telemarketer know if you are roaming or not?

Sure i might have free minutes when i'm in colorado, or even the usa. But if i fly home to britain i'll be paying for every second.

Another peeve of mine is that they don't consider the time of day where your phone terminates.. as such when i was living in the UK, i'd get telemarketer calls at 1am since I found it convenient to have a 303 (Denver) number.

It should be illegal to call a phone if it's possible that it rings in a country where it's after 9pm.

existing customers

What happens to existing customers who have had the same number for 10 years and enjoyed 10 years of bliss? (or as much bliss as one can expect owning a device with which you be reached anywhere)

illegal???

I thought it was illegal for business to make unsolicited phone calls to cell phones because the customer gets charged for it. Am i wrong?

Re:illegal???

I believe it's on a state-by-state basis.

No, it's not. Telemarketing to cell phones is already illegal and has been for some time.

The FCC has information on their website [fcc.gov].

Never get calls

I almost never get telemarketing calls on my cell. I get a wrong number sometimes.

As soon as I get a telemarketer calling my cell phone, I demand their name, number, organization, address, etc. (as the DNC registry stipulates). Then I will inform them that I will be sending a bill to that address to recover the cost of the minutes that their company just used for me.

Once, I got a telemarketer and as soon as I realized who it was I informed them that it was a cell. She apologized profusely and voluntarily put me on their do-not-call list.

I'm in Indiana, so we have a stricter DNC anyway. :)

Maybe I'm Naive but.....

Maybe I'm naieve, but I personally think this would be a good idea. Telemarketers are irriting, no question, but worse still is losing a phone number and being unable to find it. I don't have to refer to the phone-book too often for landlines, but every time I do, it saves me mucho effort or results in me being able to contact someone I otherwise would not be able to.

Re:Maybe I'm Naive but.....

I understand that for many of us, a mobile phone is as fundamental as a land line phone at home. For many others, a mobile phone is the only phone they have.

However, I'm sure I'm not the only one who views a mobile phone as follows: The phone is for ME to call PEOPLE, not the other way around. The only people I want to receive mobile calls from (indeed, this applies to home line calls as well) are the people to whom I GIVE the number. That's why my home number is unlisted.

I can count on both hands the number of people who have my mobile number, and I like it that way. I would much rather see this directory be opt-in only.

even if you don't register

It is like a firewall - take the call once.
*Phone rings*
Me: who's this? Them: We are calling to see how many children you have..
Me:I have registered this number in the Do not call registry
*click*
There you go :)


What can i say? I am a lonely guy :)

Instant obsolescence?

Admittedly, I know only a bit about cel-phones, but the many people I know and work with tend to change numbers frequently. What's practical about a list like this, if the information is consistantly out-of-date? I realise an electronic DB would be easy enough to keep current, but who's goign to use it (besides spammers?)

Already on the DNC list

funny- when I first signed up for the Federal DNC list, it asked me to provide up to 5 phone numbers. Didn't anybody else enter their cell numbers at that point?

Great!

So the bastard next to me in the movie theater can ruin the experience by getting a call from a jackass he *doesn't* know?

Terrible!!!!!

With the abundance of web pages that allow users to simply type in a cell-phone number and a text message, I feel this might be a huge mistake publishing all of these numbers. How long would it take for a spam bot to cultivate through the database, pick-up all the numbers and spam them? My guess is that it shouldn't take more than a day to do.

"Wireless carriers say they doubt there will be widespread abuse. They point out that most mobile phones come equipped with caller ID, distinctive ring tones, call blocking and other tools to manage unwanted calls. And several carriers say they have made refunds to subscribers who have received unwanted calls. "

What they fail to understand is that, atleast with my carrier (Sprint), text messages pop up all the time. I have no options to block text messages from certain users, or only allow messages from those in my phone book. I think the biggest area won't be the unwanted calls, but rather the unwanted text messages that cost about as much as it does to send spam messages.

By far.. Worst idea EVER!

Re:Terrible!!!!!

I have sprint and have only gotten 1 spam sms message to my phone in 5 years i've had a cell. I reported it to SPRINT PCS and the tech said that with the exact time of the message and the number it was sent to they could get the IP address of the sender's computer. If you get spam on your phone report it!

old news

This has been avaiable here in Norway for several years now.. allthough I do imagine there is a certain difference in volume between Norway and the US. Had a funny experience with this btw, one day when I was bored, I looked up my number in one of the online catalogs - and behold, they had gotten hold of even more information about me than I ever gave my cell provider, it was kinda scary I can tell you :)

may not be as bad as it sounds

According to this article [sun-sentinel.com], the CTIA claims that all the carriers who are going along with the plan are doing so on an opt-in basis for existing customers, and an opt-out basis for new customers, without any additional fees.

My contract...

Opt out at the beginning of my contract?

That was over three years ago! I'm not under contract with T-Mobile now but I still am a customer, I wonder if they'll say I have to get back ON contract to get off the directory. My plan's so old I still get the first incoming minute free. Does that mean I can't sue for cost of minutes if I get telemarketer calls?

Costs

Hmm.. I think it would be prudent to document all the incoming calls/spam. Given that most companies charge per.. it now costs you money. It would be worthwhile to take up your cell provider's customer service time by requesting documentation on who is using up your paid resources. If you run into any roadblocks, IANAL, bring up your lawyer. You can use that effectively I think. Complain enough and you could be put on the do not call list.

can you hear me now?

Not only is a business risking loss of clientel,I feel the cell companys involved are at risk too. Besides that you know somewhere down the line there will be a law suit (or two). ----- "you are unique, just like everybody else"

Before banning a directory...

... outlaw the use of the "star codes" that block caller ID (*67).

Re:Before banning a directory...

This is already illegal for telemarketers. In 2004, the government's amended telemarketing sales regulations proscribed the sending of their phone number when calling and, if possible, their name.

Jerks

Until recently, when customers switched carriers, their numbers changed as well, so marketers were reluctant to invest much in compiling databases.

For once I thought that something good was being done for the consumer...my mistake.

i have the opposite problem

I run my business from my PCS phone.

Did you know that you CANNOT get a white pages listing for your cell phone unless you get your cell phone service from your local RBOC?

Try getting a D&B on a number they can't verify with the RBOC!

Re:i have the opposite problem

I currently run my business with my cell phone. What I did was contact my local land line phone provider (sprint) and asked for a business forwarding number. It is about $12 a month, gets you a listing in the white pages and most importantly, gets you a listing in the yellow pages under the heading of your choice. They then give you a unique local number and that number just forwards calls to whatever number you tell them. In my case, it was my cell phone. You give people your local number number and magically your cell phone always rings. I have not once ever gotten a long distance bill, even if the people who called me were far away, not so far away, or just in the extended local long area. Seems to be quite a good deal.

Call Me Paranoid...

but I wouldn't trust any "do not call" registry. You're handing out your cell number in blind trust that the list won't be adulterated in the future. It's just like those opt-out links at the bottom of spam - it will likely only alert spammers that it's a "live" and important contact.

Trust no one.

Can't they make money from a telephone service!?

Really! What is it with these companies, and screwing over their customers for an extra few dollars? No spammer is going to pay as much per number as the user is going to pay making and receiving calls.

This shows a total disregard for their customers. This is a stupid attitude, towards the people who actually pay the bulk of their income. They need to stop courting the extras, and make sure those who supply their primary income are as happy as possible with the service.

bluetooth as well?

Will the Do Not Call list include a do not bluetooth spam? Im more worried about shops and like offering me things on a more personal level direct to my phone whenever I enter a mall or go to the bar.

SprintPCS

With SprintPCS I was getting occassional spam text messages, so I when to their Website and turned that feature off - except then I kept getting spam text messages from ... SprintPCS. I had to call and have them "unprovision" text messaging entirely in order to get any assurance that they could stop themselves from spamming me!

Cell phone spam

Some people are already receiving cell phone spam and telemarketing calls.

I've gotten cell phone spam on every carrier i've been with for the past 2 years (3 carriers). TMobile was the worst....i got 25 spam messages in one day. I also got billed for it (SMS overuse). They claimed that since I never logged in to change my "cell phone number email address" on TMobile's site, I was getting the messages and didn't try to prevent them. Man did that customer retention supervisor get her ass chewed. After I got done with her, I ended up with a new phone, a changed "email address" and 4 months free :)

FCC and Rulemaking!

The FCC [fcc.gov]is in the process of making rules to protect consumers regarding cell phones and spam. On another related note: The American Teleservices Association [ataconnect.org] filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the National Do Not Call Registry. If the Court takes the case, I do not believe that they will over turn the 10th Circuit's decision.

Verizon sucks

Verizon already phone spams their own customers.

About a month ago, I got one of those annoying automated calls offering me "great new services" through Verizon. The recording said "Push 1 for more information".

So, I pushed '1' and waded went through several levels of systems until I could talk to a human. I asked him to set all my privacy preferences to prohibit any further calls or sharing of my personal information, and he was totally lost at how to proceed. He acted as if this was an unprecedented request.. "I don't have any idea how I could do that. We don't have any settings for that in the user accounts."

After spending 30 minutes on the phone with this guy, I was pissed to have wasted so much time and just wanted to hang up. But he agreed to submit some paper form that was supposed to ensure this did not happen again.. He did not inspire a lot of confidence, but I haven't gotten another call.. yet.

I love telemarketers

I can never remember my home phone number and they are always kind enough to inform me what my number is, right before I call hang up on them.

They are so much fun. As soon as I realize it is them, I put the phone down and walk away for a few minutes. Political callers are the best, as, I usually spout some anti-Capitalist, anti-Democratic stuff their way.

Hm, maybe I should un-register my home phone, I do so love messing with the telemarketers.

Now, my cell is another story. I have an international cell, as in, I can take it to other countries and it still rings with my USA-based number. I would not be happy to recieve a call from a telemarketer while in Australia, 11 hours ahead, and at a cost of US$1/min.

Oh, I use T-Mobile, so, this does not make me too happy.

-CPM

Spam-Filter for Cell phones

I will start writing a spam filter for cell phones.
Make sure you set your rules wizard on your phone to only accept calls from your address book. =>

What a coincidence....

I have wireless service through iwireless(formerly Iowa Wireless) who is an affiliate of tmobile. They recently sent me a notice that they were raising their prices by like 3 dollars. The reason they said they were raising the price is because of the bill that passed allowing a customer to take their cell phone number with them anywhere they go.

I have many friends with cell phones through different companies, and none of the other companies seem to be raising their prices at all because of this bill. T-mobile is a horrible company that doesn't give a shit about the customer, everytime I had a problem with them they simply told me that is the way it is and they wont make any effort to change it. I don't know where they got their business practices but where I come from the customer is ALWAYS right!

I am now switching to Verizon for reasons such as them not giving out the personal information of customer THAT PAY FOR THEIR SERVICE! Until companies start caring about the customers and not their profits...their profits will continue to go down.

I highly reccomend to anyone that is considering moving to T-Mobile or any of their affiliates to think twice and look at Verizon or Nextel instead. Peace...

Callers pay!

I think except in US, calls to cellphones are usually only charge to the callers. That makes sense...

T-Mobile

I'm not surprised that T-Mobile has been selling personal information. They also send email spam, via "affiliates". I'm shopping for a new cell phone (camera phone) to replce my old cell phone, and the spam they sent me kept them from consideration. Never do business with spammers.

Do not call list doesn't Work Outside of IE

It's a damn shame that the US gov can't write a simple reg program that will work cross platform. I simple see no reason to write IE dependent code. Especially when the code is related to a government service. When will people learn that by writing IE dependent code, they are only hurting themeselves and their users.

This is a pretty pointless story...

All cell phones are already a "Do Not Call" telemarketing item. You don't have to be on any list because its the same as a fax machine. You pay the charges for the call because its your minutes, and so they can be reported and fined with no signup.

do-not-call webbots

a scan of the do-not-call registry page reveals this little tidbit:
src="http://g6589dcs.nyc2.aens.net/DCS000003_6D4Q/ njs.gif?dcsuri=/nojavascript"

Nice of AT&T to be monitoring/logging all the traffic to that site.

I won't register because they have no business associating an IP or e-mail with a telephone number in an opt-out list.

sweet

I can cross index this the liscense plates, and I can call the bozo who just cut me off, when they get off th phone.
I can see it now:
"Hello"
"Is this Paul?"
"yes"
Paul Bozo?"
"yes, who is this?"
"This is the person you just cut off. Have a nice day."

Let the paranoia begin!

Not news

Cell phone directory or catalog is not worth news.

It has been talked about for a long time - the first time I heard it being talked seriously was in Italy in 1998.

75%, I think not...

75% of _all_ mobile users is a big call...I don't think all the Australian cell users will be too worried about this.

Off topic a bit but...

I just got a new cellphone yesterday and I started thinking... I have 5 phone numbers in my area code just of my own and Im just an average guy. With so many people having a home phone, a cell phone, a work phone, often a fax number or a second line for (heaven forbid) dialup access, that kind of thing... it sure seems like 9 million phone numbers isn't very many for a given area code... Maybe it is, I dont know, but I think theres a few million PEOPLE in my city, let alone the other 1/3 the state that share the same area code, and if most of those have 2-3 phone numbers... seems suprising to fit them all within that 9 million cap?

why are we paying for incoming calls?

Personally, I think it's a sham that US phone services charge for incoming calls. In no other country is this the case? I mean, when I call from a Verizon cell phone to a Verizon cell phone why should both people be paying?

Telemarketing outside the USA

As far as I know it, in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Asia, it's free to receive cellphone calls, generally speaking. Callers can tell by the phone number prefix that it's a cell phone, and they pay when they call.

(Yes, that means you can receive all the calls you like on your cellular phone for something like $10 US per year to stay connected.)

There are schemes like call-diversion that send calls to (e.g.) your home phone line to your cellphone. In these cases the cellphone user pays because they made the decision to send the call over the cellular network.

It's no wonder cellphone penetration is so low in the states when having a cellphone means taking on a huge liability for bozos ringing you up!

Why is the system so different in the US to everywhere else?

Cell phone been registered

I registered my cell phone and house line at the same time. Since I use my cell more then my house line, I figured it was important.

However, there are a lot of ways for telemarketers to get around it. First off, they claim its not a sales call, when it fact it damn sure is. Second, they make it look like it was something I requested.

I got 5 calls total from a local (same state) car dealer. They claim I submitted a request via car.com and couldn't verify anything beyond that. They also claimed all of this was via E-Mail and I was talking to a rep for 2 weeks about a car.

a) They couldn't verify my E-Mail address, opps sorry, its listed as unknown or invaild.
b) Its a car I never would buy to begin with.
c) I called there managment each time telling them to stop calling me before I file a complaint.

Needless to say, not only did I file a complaint with the FTC, I also filed a complaint with the BBB and the local police. They are looking into changes being pressed for harrasment.

This is the only problem I have had so far with cell phones and telemarketers. Eitherway, I would be VERY pissed if they called my phone, if I didn't have an unlimited package through nextel, so for me its not a big deal.

I just hope if they are building a directory of cell phone numbers, they include some sort of feature to allow customers to request there names and numbers NOT be included.

I don't ansewer unless I KNOW who it is...

I don't ansewer my cell if I the person isn't in my address book (Meaning there name doesn't show up when the phone rings). If its important they'll leave a voice message, which if they do, my phone beeps at me and I check right away (say if it was an emergancy of something) otherwise I if its a tele, I just delete the message with in the first 10-20 seconds).

Sure its a hassle, but it keeps me from having to listen and argue with a telemarketer, and I end up using less minutes by just checking voicemail than ansering the bleeping phone.

Obviously I'm not one of those Americans who HAVE to check there phone when ever it rings, (no matter where they are).

I have a simple solution that works for *me*

My cell phone is set so that if the calling number is not stored in my phone book, the ring tone is "silent."

If you paid for your calls ...

It's worth pointing out that in the UK (and most of Europe) the caller pays for the call and not the receiver.

After all, if you want a service (eg. to talk to someone) it seems only fair that you should pay for it and not someone else - when I go to get my hair cut, it's not as if the barber pays me for the privilidge of me coming to him.

Because of this, cold calling by companies to mobile phone users is virtually non-existant.

Nextel too!

When I got a Nextel phone i didn't get the text messaging service. Next thing I know I get couple ad type text messages from Nextel, when I got the bill I was charged $0.25 for each! They said I hadn't asked to have text message ads blocked, I said why would I ask, I wasn't paying for the text messaging option and thus couldn't recieve messages anyway from what I understood. They credited me the charges and put the block on.

Re:The solution?

"Don't get a cell phone. Not only will you not get annoying calls but you also won't be one of the lucky recipents to get a brain tumor 20 years from now. Oh you know it's coming....... "

You should get rid of your computer. Not only will you not get those annoying spams, but you also won't be one of the lucky recipients to get skin cancer 20 years from now because you didn't switch to LCD soon enough. Oh, you know it's coming....

Most cell phone plans have free nights and weekend

So they just telemarket you on friday night, saturday and sunday :-).

Re:Verizon

...and that's why you never, ever sign up for a contract for cellular service.

Of course another great reason is that at the rate technology is improving, in a year or two the contract will become a noose. How about when the new plans include unlimited data transfer for less than you're paying for voice only now?

Try one of the prepaid plans. At AT&T for example it's 25 cents/minute (which is high if you use it a lot so it's not suitable for everyone), but there is no contract, no hidden fees like the fake taxes that were dicussed here recently, and unused minutes roll forward. For very light use, you can have a cell phone for $3.50/month including extras and taxes with AT&T. That $3.50 doesn't force you to use 14 minutes either; if you use less than 14 they still roll forward.

Re:Verizon

apparently your the minority since verizon was rated the best in customer service and support recently (with at&t as the worst, no surprise there)

As for picture phones, there are a ton of them for verizon, infact i know of one that is great and by LG.... but it begs the question.... who really needs their phone to take pictures... PDA replacement i can see, ability to be used as a modem yes... but PICTURES?