Do People Want A Mobile Phone Directory?
from the questions,-questions dept
There's been a lot of talk over the last few months about the potential for a mobile phone directory. Many in the industry have been pushing for it, though, consumers fear for their privacy. Already sick of telemarketers on their landlines, they don't want to start receiving such calls on their mobile phones as well. Those supporting the directory want to set it up so that you can only request the number based on a name, rather than get your hands on the entire directory -- which, in theory, should eliminate the type of phonebook dialing that many telemarketers engage in. Of course, it just takes one screwup allowing the directory to get out there, and it won't matter any more. The other part of the debate has been over whether such a directory should be opt-in or opt-out. The folks behind it have done a very odd sort of agreement on this, suggesting they could make it "opt-in," but that you will have to pay if you don't want to be included. In other words, a new fee could simply start showing up on your bill, and the way to get rid of it, would be to give out your mobile phone number. The latest in this ongoing debate is a new study suggesting that 52% of users would opt-in to such a directory if it had some privacy protection (just what kind of protection is not described and could make a huge difference). 11% would opt-in even without privacy protection. Of course, the study was done by a company who provides consulting services for the directory assistance industry -- so you have to imagine they have some bias. A big new directory makes it more likely someone will hire them.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Would make me drop my cell service
2) If my cell phone company decides to start charging me an additional fee for no good reason, it'll be time to switch services. Period. I'm really sick of them trying to nickel and dime every service fee and charge that they can.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TCPA
Presumably, then, to be legal the phone solicitors would have to manually dial the numbers that they find in the proposed directory.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Totaly nuts
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Information Wants to be Free
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Would make me drop my cell service
I challenge anyone to just take one month and in that one month go over every expense with a fine tooth comb and add up all the little service charges and fees that crop up...from the 1.50 for using an ATM of another bank to the "Fed.XN.sund" you might see at the bottom of your cellphone bill for 9 cents that you don't want to spend 3 hours on hold to find out about.
You'll see how much of your hard earned money is going to some corporation's pockets.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Competition to the rescue?
Just in case though, I'm pleased that Congress will have a hearing on a proposed bill in the Fall that would prohibit charges to opt out.
As for overall pricing, competition already keeps cell phone companies more reasonable on some fees than landline TELCOs. For example, the landline I just cancelled came with a $8.50 monthly charge to get caller ID. That was 25% of the basic bill. I avoided voice mail because it was equally high. My basic cell phone bill is 50% cheaper than the landline was, and caller ID, voice mail, and more features are bundled in the price. That isn't out of the goodness of the companies' hearts. It is because customers are not at the mercy of a state approved monopoly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cell phone directory solution
I feel that we have developped a cell phone directory that addresses all of the privacy concerns expressed here, as well as provides greatly enhanced directory functionality.
Feel free to send us your comments.
www.urang.net
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Cell phone directory solution
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]