INTERACTIVE MARKETING SOLUTIONS INTRODUCES WIRELESS- PORTED NUMBERS FILE FOR TCPA COMPLIANCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts: Louis Mastria 212.790.1529 Lmastria@the-dma.org

Jordan Cohen 212.790.1507 Jcohen@the-dma.org

NEW YORK, July 26, 2004 – Interactive Marketing Solutions (IMS), a subsidiary of the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA), today announced that it has introduced the Wireless-Ported Numbers File, a new product that will assist companies to comply with federal regulations governing telephone marketing.

"New Federal Communications Commission rules can result in the accidental placement of marketing phone calls to ported cell-phones," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. "However, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits marketers from using automatic dialing equipment to place telephone calls to cellular phone lines. Therefore, IMS’s Wireless-Ported Numbers File was developed to ensure that businesses can avoid placing marketing calls to cellular phones inadvertently."

New FCC rules went into effect earlier this year that allow landline phone numbers to be ported to cell-phones. Therefore, as an unintended consequence, the new rules can result in the accidental placement of marketing phone calls to ported cell-phones.

"The solution is a suppression list of telephone numbers that have been recently ported from landline phones to cellular phones," said Frank Rigano, president, IMS. "The list is updated every Monday, and with some exceptions, IMS permits teleservices providers to purchase the Wireless-Ported Numbers File once, and use it to scrub all of their clients marketing lists before making calls on their behalf."

The Wireless-Ported Numbers File, which currently identifies approximately 500,000 ported-numbers, should be used as a supplement to IMS’s Wireless Block Identifier, and not as a substitute. The Wireless Block Identifier, which currently identifies more than 400 million phone numbers, helps companies suppress those phone numbers that have been specifically set aside by telecommunications providers for cellular subscribers.

Subscriptions to the new service cost $895 per year. To apply for the Wireless-Ported Numbers File, go to http://preference.the-dma.org/products/WirelessPortedNumbers.shtml.

For information about IMS’s Wireless Block Identifier, go to http://preference.the-dma.org/products/wireless.shtml.

About IMS

Interactive Marketing Solutions (IMS) (http://preference.the-dma.org/index.shtml), a subsidiary of the Direct Marketing Association, is committed to developing innovative list and database management software and services designed to help businesses succeed in their marketing efforts by mitigating the challenges imposed by privacy and consumer opt-out legislation. Interactive Marketing Solutions was organized in 2001 to help direct marketers comply with the requests of consumers who do not want to receive unsolicited marketing material via mail, e-mail, and/or telephone. IMS manages for The DMA the world’s largest private consumer preference database of nearly 15,000,000 consumers. Additionally, as the processing arm of The DMA, IMS manages the "do not call" list for Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, and Wyoming. Included in the management services IMS provide is the distribution of preference information to DMA members, direct marketers, and direct marketing service organizations for the sole purpose of removing individuals from prospect lists in accordance with state laws and DMA membership rules. IMS has expanded its product offerings from the distribution of preference information to online cleaning of lists for mailers, e-mailers, and telemarketers. Through its relationship with The DMA, IMS is in communication with various state and federal lawmakers for the express purpose of developing products to help direct marketers comply with current and pending legislation.

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