Directory For Cell Phones
Date: Apr 18, 2005
Contributor: Clayton Maria
Cell phone directory meets opposition
What's going on with directory for wireless phones
It seemed like a straightforward idea at first blush: a directory for cell-phone numbers.
But not everyone was enchanted by the notion, and so today, three years since the idea was introduced, we're left with questions.
What exactly was the idea, again? Directory assistance for wireless phones. Call 411 and an operator will connect the caller to the wireless number of the person they want or will read the wireless number back to the caller.
How would they get my number? You request to be listed. The directory would be an unpublished database, accessible only to 411 operators.
Is there a cost? Not under the proposed plan.
What's not to like? Lots, as far as some are concerned. Some fear that charges for listing and unlisting could be introduced later. Several states and the U.S. Congress are considering legislation to ensure that being listed remains voluntary.
The biggest worry is unwanted calls and potential abuses. Many cell phone users regard their phone as off-limits to unauthorized callers. As Steve Lane of Raleigh puts it: "If you didn't know my number to begin with, chances are, I don't know you and I don't want to hear from you. On a cell phone you're buying minutes, and if you have unwanted people calling you, they're wasting your minutes."
So will we ever have a Wireless 411? Probably. A wireless consortium -- originally AT&T Wireless and Cingular (which have since merged), Sprint PCS and Nextel (in the process of merging), Alltel, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless -- hired Qsent, a Portland, Ore., database company, to compile the numbers voluntarily submitted by their wireless customers.
Verizon Wireless -- with 44 million customers -- has since dropped out of the project citing privacy and concerns over possible regulation. That means the company won't give its customers the option of getting listed in the wireless directory.
Qsent says the database will be launched in 2006, a year behind schedule.
How can I comment on the plan or learn more? Go to Qsent's Web site, www.wireless411service.com.
Why can't I just list my cell phone in my regular phone book? The option is not available to all. For example, BellSouth doesn't list residential cell phone numbers in the white pages, but it will list a wireless business number for free. Sprint, on the other hand, will list a residential wireless number for $1.05 a month and a business wireless number for $1.25 a month, separately for each of its phone books, such as Clayton, Wake Forest or Fuquay-Varina. There is no single directory listing wireless phone numbers.
For more information relating to "Directory For Cell Phones", please visit our Directory For Cell Phones page.
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