Cell Numbers To Be Added To 411

darthC0der writes "Looking for a friend but don't have her phone number with you? For now, you can call directory assistance for her home number, but her wireless digits are off limits from 411. Not for long. The cellular providers are now getting close to making the cellluar numbers available to 411 callers. Here's the link to a CNN article. I don't about you guys but I personally do not want my cellular number to be made available so easily."

Comments

Uh oh...

[SirNAOF]

One of the nicest things about having a cell is that only the people I give my number to have my number. They say telemarketers wouldn't get their hands on the numbers, but how long would it take before they paid someone off or obtained the list by some other not quite proper way?

I'll just have to stop answering this phone, too...

Consumer-Paid-for Advertising

[StingRayGun]

So does this mean that I have to now pay a per-minute charge for telemarketers? Who is liable for all the lost minutes that will accumulate? Also, does this mean text messaging will get even more spam filled? It seams that with this, marketing will actually cost consumers, I hope this isn't just the first in a long line of consumer-paid-for advertising. Also, I expect a lawsuit over this, once it's too late.

Why you pay to be unlisted...

[evil_pb]

Phone companies sell your numbers en masse. They get put into a big CD and sent out for a fee - this is no big secret. However *they can only charge for numbers that are on the CD!*

By being unlisted, you are costing them money. They will get it back one way or another. Believe it or not, telephone service among other things is a private enterprise! You don't own your number, you just purchase the right to use it for a time. The phone company actually owns the rights to that number and can do with it as they please.

I am interested to see what happens when telemarketers call however, since it's true about them not being able to call a number where the called party pays. Either the telemarketers won't buy a shitload of useless numbers, or cell phone providers will start shelling out free incoming calls to everyone since they can sell the number that way. Of course then a telemarketer would know which calling plan you're on which has to be some kind of invasion of privacy... Hmm, very tricky. Watch and see what promo's they come out with...

In other world news I'm going to copyright my phone number! Unless someone can prove prior art, given the complete idiocy of our patent system I should be able to get away with it. Then under the DMCA, I can sue anyone attempting to use my number by calling it since they would be entering copyrighted material without my permission. Brilliant I tell you... =)

But they won't give out the number...

[solprovider]

From the article:
For example, wireless phone users might choose to be unlisted but willing to receive a short text message, sent through the directory service, from someone trying to contact them.

I can see this situation:
411: We cannot give out that phone number because it is a cell phone.
Telemarketer: But I really need to contact them.
411: You could send a message to 4841234567@attws.com.
Telemarketer: Thank you. I will do that.

The only text messages I receive are from ATT advertising their text services. The only text messages I sent were little romantic sayings to a girlfriend, but they did not do well because she could not discover how to read them. This was not entirely her fault: it was her first cell phone, she only had it one month, and Nokia buried the messages 3 levels into the menus.

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Someone asked why cell phones do not have true caller ID. They only display the phone number, unless the number and name are in the phone book in the cell phone. I had asked ATT about this. They said that Verizon was refusing to let them into the local phone directories. I will believe anything evil about Verizon, but this seems silly:
1. Verizon cell phone customers have the same poor caller ID as ATT customers.
2. Every telemarketer, phone book publisher, and 411 operator has access to that list.
I believe that the cell phone companies are just too lazy to build the system properly.

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And good news for me:
Verizon turned off my land line on WED MAR 12. On FRI MAR 14, I received a snailmail notice that they would shut it off on MAR 24 if I did not pay the $60 that was 20 days overdue. Today (MAR 21) they are probably trying to leave me a voicemail about the proposed shutoff.

I warned them last year that if they ever shut off my service again it would not be turned back on. Last year's shutoff was due to Verizon's computer problems. I was on auto-pay at the time, but they charged me to have the phone lines restored. When they would not refund the charges, I turned off one phone line and made the threat.

So they are permanently losing a customer. No more land lines for me. Yeah!

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The Slashdot quote for this article was appropriately:
The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.
I believe that summarizes the entire telecommunications industry.