US Wireless Market – Is It 411 Ready?

Many people like the fact that their wireless phone numbers are not part of a public directory. A recent survey, however, seems to indicate that the US wireless market might be ready for 411 service. The same survey indicated that only a small percentage of the US market is overly concerned about the privacy of their wireless number.

The Pierz Group, an independent consumer research firm that studies the wireless markets in the US, said that the better the privacy policies that are in place, the more likely people are to participate in a directory service. Getting numerous wireless service providers to agree on privacy policies might be the biggest obstacle to a cellular 411 service in the US.

The Pierz Group studied a representative sample of the US wireless market and found that 52 percent would be willing to list their cellular phone number in a directory assistance database. Eleven percent said they would be willing to list their numbers even without privacy protections. A year earlier, only two percent said they would list their wireless number under those circumstances. These numbers indicate the US market is changing.

Some consumers and privacy protection groups are afraid that a database of cell phone numbers will open the wireless market to Spam and even sales calls. Consumers don’t appear as worried about this since the “National Do Not Call Registry” was implemented for landlines.

Number portability may also help to make the creation of a database for the wireless US market more feasible. According to studies, the average US wireless customer changes phones every 18 months. That usually meant that they had to change numbers every 18 months as well.

Also see; Motorola cell phones.

Author Notes:

Jack Adams contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.cell-phones-n-plans.com. A cellular phone industry resource that features service plan comparisons, cellular phone reviews and articles.