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Witness Testimony
Mr. Patrick M. Cox
An Examination of Wireless Directory Assistance Policies and Programs
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify on Senate Bill S. 1963, the "Wireless 411 Privacy Act". My name is Patrick Cox and I am CEO of Qsent, Inc. Prior to founding Qsent, I was the founding CEO of MetroOne Telecommunications, Inc., the first independent operator services company to provide 411 services to wireless phone users. I am here today because Qsent was selected by 6 of the nation's leading wireless carriers to facilitate the delivery of wireless directory assistance information through the existing 411 providers, the Operator Services Companies (OSCs). Simply stated, Qsent was selected because these large, diverse, fiercely competitive companies trust us with one of their most important assets: customer listing information. In our current business, we've demonstrated our commitment to consumer choice and privacy as well as our ability in managing highly secure services. My company's background and expertise makes us uniquely qualified to work with the wireless carriers and their associated OSCs in making the Wireless 411 Service a success from the consumer's perspective. Mr. Chairman, you and the other members of this Committee have been leaders in adapting our laws to meet the changing needs of the information age. You recognize the importance of creating an environment where new technologies can be adapted to provide consumers with more and better services without compromising their rights and privacy. I am concerned that by adopting this legislation, you may stall technology growth and limit new consumer and business services that provide real value. I applaud your commitment to privacy, and at the same time I believe this legislation, and the bill before Governor Schwarzenegger in California, are based on fundamental misconceptions about the Wireless 411 Service. The legislation outlines "fixes" to problems that do not and will not exist, and in doing so, will restrict consumer choice in unintended ways. THE WIRELESS 411 SERVICE The Wireless 411 Service is designed to be the consumer-choice and privacy-protected inclusion of wireless listings in the national 411 infrastructure, making wireless numbers available in the existing 411 service. In fact, it will not be a directory like standard 411, but based upon a dynamic privacy-protected database accessible only in real-time for each 411 inquiry by the operator. The service is not yet available, but the following describes the fundamental design principles. Subscribers will be able to pre-authorize (opt-in) through their carrier, the availability of their wireless phone number information for 411 purposes. It is expected that individuals will be able to choose to participate in the Wireless 411 Service at any time. If the individual chooses to opt into the Wireless 411 Service, their carrier will make their listing information available for the privacy-protected database. When a wireless number inquiry is made, the data aggregator (Qsent) will provide the carrier's Operator Services Company (OSC) access to the data. The OSC will neither temporarily store nor permanently retain the subscriber information. If an individual chooses not to opt into the Wireless 411 Service, their listing will not be made available in the privacy-protected database. If no decision is made by the consumer to opt-in, the individual is automatically opted out. It is critically important to the success of this service that it begins with no participants and grows only as individuals explicitly opt-in. There is far too much business risk to the carriers and privacy risk to individuals for it to work any other way. Individual carriers will be responsible for outlining services and options to subscribers, managing the opt-in process and providing Qsent with the approved wireless phone number information. With their greatest asset on the line - customer trust - there are huge incentives to follow this course. Qsent will collect opt-in wireless listing data from participating carrier data sources and provide the information through each carrier's selected OSCs - the same OSCs that provide landline 411 today. The information will be placed into Qsent's dynamic privacy-protected database and will only be accessible by an OSC in response to a real-time customer query for an opted-in wireless number. Qsent will not create or allow to be created a wireless phone number directory, either printed, electronic or online, in whole or in part. Measures are in place, such as employee training and technical controls to ensure that no printed, electronic, or online directory is created. PRIVACY Protecting Privacy is a fundamental requirement for Qsent's business and for the Wireless 411 Service. We not only focus on privacy because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is good business practice. Wireless carriers have a crucial valuable asset, the trusted relationships they build with their customers. The Wireless 411 Service will strongly support this relationship. In services such as Wireless 411, consumer participation is an important factor for success. Building trust through strong privacy principles substantially increases the likelihood that individuals will participate. We understand how privacy is personal to each of us, to our family, to your constituents, and to our customers. We've designed all Qsent services, including the Wireless 411 Service, with a foundation of privacy protection. The Wireless 411 Service provides the wireless carriers with the ability to assure consumer trust. Qsent believes the following principles are critical to a successful Wireless 411 Service and are designed into the foundation of the solution.
These four fundamental principles are built into all Qsent practices, into the Wireless 411 Service and into the provision of Wireless 411 Services at the OSCs. Qsent will make consumers' listing information available only as part of a real-time, individual query initiated by the delivery of 411 service. There will never be a bulk distribution of uniquely identifiable information. The OSCs will not store or retain the data. These efforts enable individuals and enterprises to control how personally identifiable information is disclosed to third parties in a clear and simple way. CONSUMER BENEFITS Today, about 80% of consumers choose to have their landline phone numbers listed in a directory, and there are many who now voluntarily list their cell phones as well. Clearly, there is a strong value to them in doing so, whether that value is business or personal. Further, in an increasingly electronic economy, directories are what enable networks like the Internet and email to operate efficiently, and for consumers and businesses to gain the most value from them. Most importantly, directories play a key role in helping people stay connected. The Wireless 411 Service is an example of how traditional directories will evolve to deliver these same benefits in a way that protects privacy and preserves consumer choice. According to the FCC, of the 165 million cell phone users in the U.S. today, 20% consider their wireless phone to be their primary communications device, with 5 million reporting that their mobile phone was their only phone. And even more astounding, half of all telephone subscriptions in the U.S. this year will be mobile phones. Given the growth and dependency on wireless devices, a Wireless 411 Service will meet the growing demands of those subscribers who want such a service and specifically choose to participate. For business people, particularly small business owners who are mobile such as real estate professionals, contractors and consultants, the benefit is clear. For personal safety, consumers may also choose to participate in order to be contacted in an emergency situation wherever or whenever it occurs. This could be a teenager searching for a parent's forgotten cell number after a roadside accident or a frantic parent in a emergency trying to contact a child who is with a friend's family. Finally, for the large and growing number of individuals, particularly young people for whom their cell phone is their only phone, participating in the Wireless 411 Service will be their means for people to find them - their means to be both mobile and available, if they so choose. So why don't more wireless subscribers choose to be listed in traditional 411? The answer; it's difficult, costs money and opens them up to unwanted calls because it isn't privacy protected. In fact, a telemarketer who gets a directory today has no way of knowing which listings are cell phones if they want to specifically avoid calling them. With the Wireless 411 Service, the consumer benefits are realized while the negative consequences have been designed out. LEGISLATION Let me share with you my thoughts on the proposed legislation specific to what I expect to be the practical affect on consumers and businesses. The Wireless 411 Service is a natural evolution of an increasingly pervasive technology. The idea of adding the capability for a cell phone user to call 411 for service assistance in reaching another subscriber who has chosen to be listed seems a natural course in the innovation of wireless technology. The design of the Wireless 411 Service was developed with consideration for the existing consumer privacy laws already in place. Today, there are a number of consumer privacy laws designed for landline phones that cross-over to protect wireless consumers. These include: the National Do Not Call Registry, CAN SPAN Act of 2003 and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). As of June 2004, 62 million numbers were on the Do Not Call list. This has proven to be an effective means to screen out telemarketing calls. The TCPA prohibits all autodialed calls to wireless phones, whether it is a marketing call or not. The CAN SPAM Act and the rules recently promulgated by the FCC prohibit unsolicited commercial messages to wireless phones and pagers, providing yet another layer of protection for the consumer. The Wireless 411 Service is compatible with, and in fact can help with the compliance of these laws. Section (C) CALL FORWARDING of the Wireless 411 Privacy Act appears to be an attempt to ensure that callers only receive desired calls, but the method mandated in this legislation will not allow that to occur. First, accepting or rejecting the notification of an unwanted call is no less invasive than receiving the call but not taking it. Second, there is no method or technology available to effectively authenticate the identity of the caller; therefore, it would be relatively easy for someone to claim a false identity in order to get through. The inability to authenticate the true identity of a caller to a cell phone stems from the fact that there is no technology that displays the Caller ID name for an incoming call to a cell phone. The name can only be displayed if the name already exists in the personal address book in the cell phone. Therefore, there is no way to notify the user of the caller's identity before the call goes through. Third, certain state PUC regulations may require detailed call billing. If the goal of call forwarding is to obscure the number, that couldn't be accomplished because the wireless number would appear on the call detail reports. Eventually, many technology companies will develop competing products that will allow you to only receive calls from certain people or allow the true integration of caller ID for cell phones. Consumers have the right to choose these service offerings. Consumer choice should not be constrained by Congressional legislation. The Wireless 411 Service will have a dynamic privacy protected database from which no printed or electronic directory will be created. However, the pending legislation calls for the prohibition against any future published directory. I do not believe this service should be strictly prohibited through legislation simply because subscribers themselves may find that they want to put their wireless phone number in the white or yellow pages, as millions of businesses do today. CONCLUSION We've designed the Wireless 411 Service to ensure that consumers know their information will be secure and private. Most importantly, the greatest protection a consumer can have is personal choice. The Wireless 411 Service will provide this. The legislation before us today will stifle innovation and limit consumer choice while not adding any real privacy protection. Thank you. |