A plan by a powerful telecommunications group to make a directory of wireless phone numbers is riling many who fear that their cell phone numbers will become prey for telemarketers.
Even though it is illegal under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 for telemarketers to call mobile phones without permission, it is also illegal under the federal CAN SPAM Act of 2003 to send much of the junk mail that, legal or not, still floods our e-mail inboxes.
The move to compile a directory of cell phone numbers comes from the Communications, Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a trade group for the wireless industry.
It's designed to be voluntary. Before your number appears, you have to agree to it.
The CTIA argues that the directory is needed because more than 8 million Americans use only wireless phones.
Full Story @ Detroit Free Press
Posted by Muddy at December 12, 2004 07:57 PM | TrackBack