Wireless directory draws cheers, jeers

The wireless industry insists that customers are clamoring for directory assistance for mobile phone numbers, although critics - including IT executives - say the move carries unacceptable risks for businesses.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) and five of the six largest wireless carriers are developing a plan to include wireless phone numbers in a database accessible by dialing 411 as early as the first quarter of next year.

The CTIA, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel Communications, Sprint PCS and T-Mobile are behind the effort. Verizon Wireless denounces the directory initiative, saying it compromises user privacy and is unnecessary.

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The wireless industry insists that customers are clamoring for directory assistance for mobile phone numbers, although critics - including IT executives - say the move carries unacceptable risks for businesses.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) and five of the six largest wireless carriers are developing a plan to include wireless phone numbers in a database accessible by dialing 411 as early as the first quarter of next year.

The CTIA, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel Communications, Sprint PCS and T-Mobile are behind the effort. Verizon Wireless denounces the directory initiative, saying it compromises user privacy and is unnecessary.

"Let's, as an industry, stop pushing something on customers that they clearly don't want," Verizon Wireless CEO Denny Strigl said at a recent conference. "It's a dumb idea."

Backers of the directory insist privacy will be paramount. The group will use one unnamed aggregator to store the numbers in a database. The CTIA says the numbers will not be published, posted on the Internet or sold, but would only be available to 411 operators.

Users must formally request to have their number included in the directory. If no request is made, the number will remain private. Neither choice will come with any additional cost to subscribers, according to the carriers and CTIA. This is particularly important, as users who opt in to the directory could be looking at higher usage rates because wireless users pay for all incoming and outgoing calls.

Such assurances have not been enough to squelch criticism of the proposal.

"At RKA Petroleum, privacy is a huge issue, especially since 65% of our cellular fleet is with our petroleum truck drivers," says Jason Hittleman, vice president of information systems at the Romulus, Mich., company.

Despite promises from carriers to keep numbers private, there are concerns about how the numbers will be kept private once they are part of a database.

"If these numbers became available to the public, our drivers could begin receiving unsolicited phone calls, which could distract them from the road," he says.

Federal and state legislation is in the works aimed at keeping a close check on how the carriers handle this service. One federal bill - the Wireless 411 Privacy Act - mandates that carriers stick to their promise that only those opting in will be listed and that no one will be charged. The bill also stipulates that the database of mobile numbers never be published or distributed.

The CTIA says such legislation is premature.

"It's unnecessary because we haven't done anything wrong," says John Walls, vice president of public affairs at CTIA. In the competitive wireless services market, if a carrier does something to irritate its customers, they have the option to take their business and phone numbers elsewhere, which is more effective than legislation as a deterrent, he says.

The critics remain unmoved by such logic.

"Customers see opt-in as a disingenuous foot-in-the door, leading to 'opt-out' clauses and fees for not publishing a number," Verizon Wireless' Strigl said last month addressing The Yankee Group's 2004 Wireless Leadership Summit. "Nor does opt-in allow customers any degree of control over how and to whom their information is revealed. They either keep full privacy or face full exposure with nothing in-between."