The DMA Introduces Wireless Telephone Suppression Service
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 21, 2002 -
In his keynote speech at their 85th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) President & CEO H. Robert Wientzen today announced the launch of The DMA's new wireless telephone suppression service designed to help marketers avoid making unsolicited calls to consumers' cellular phones.The DMA's new suppression service includes a complete list of all area codes and exchanges that have been registered to wireless telephones. The list is a new service currently available that helps marketers avoid violating federal regulations, established by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which prohibits individuals from knowingly making unsolicited marketing calls to wireless numbers through the use of automated dialers. The DMA's new service will cover some 280 million phone numbers that are currently assigned or will be assigned to cellular phones.
"This new service is a win-win for consumers and marketers alike," said Wientzen. "We're introducing this service as a sign of our continued commitment to effective self-regulation and maintaining goodwill with American consumers."
"We feel the suppression service is a necessary solution as marketers and regulators work toward the differentiation between a landline and a wireless telephone number," Wientzen continued.
The DMA will support its suppression service by increasing its industry education offerings. The Ethics and Consumer Affairs division is currently developing a briefing workshop that will include information on wireless portability regulations and the wireless telephone suppression service. The DMA recently completed two successful briefings on the teleservices industry and plans to roll out more due to a strong response for updates. A fact sheet will also be available in late fall of this year to marketers to help them better understand how the wireless portability issue will affect their telemarketing operations.
The suppression service, which includes monthly updates, is available on a subscription basis for $500 per year. For more information, visit http://www.the-dma.org/preference.
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.###