VERIZON WIRELESS SPURNS DIRECTORIES, CITING PRIVACY ISSUES
Citing privacy concerns, Verizon Wireless Pres. Denny Strigl Mon. strongly opposed taking part in a proposed wireless directory and said Verizon would write into contracts language protecting customers from having their names enrolled in a 411 registry. Strigl’s stance puts Verizon at odds with CTIA and other wireless carriers. A company source said Verizon is likely to make customer privacy an issue “as the opportunity arises” in comments on other issues as well.
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“As an industry, we should be proud of our strong record to date to proactively preserve customers’ privacy in an intrusive world,” Strigl said at the Yankee Group’s Wireless Leadership Summit in N.Y. “Our industry has surrounded customers’ information with a wall of privacy. Why would we want to tear down that wall -- that unique advantage we provide -- that we have spent two decades fortifying?”
Verizon broke with other carriers in 2000-2001 on safe driving, endorsing legislation in N.Y. and N.J. requiring use of hands-free devices. Last year, Verizon became the first major carrier to support the FCC’s local number portability (LNP) initiative. Verizon’s stance on LNP has helped it attract customers and limited customer loss in the months since the Nov. 24, 2003, deadline, according to several analyst reports. Historically, wireline customers have had to pay to keep their numbers out of a directory.
Strigl said giving customers a choice on whether to have their names added wouldn’t work: “We're only kidding ourselves if we think the ‘opt-in’ approach is a solution. Customers see opt-in as a disingenuous foot-in-the door, leading to ‘opt-out’ clauses and fees for not publishing a number. Nor does opt-in allow customers any degree of control over how and to whom their information is revealed -- they either keep full privacy or face full exposure, with nothing in-between.” Strigl said customer contracts will specify that Verizon customer names won’t be added to directories. “Let’s, as an industry, stop pushing something on customers that they clearly don’t want,” he said.
Other wireless carriers including Cingular, Sprint, T- Mobile, and Alltel have announced plans to launch a national database that 411 operators can use to find the numbers of wireless customers.
One analyst said Verizon may shrewdly be portraying a cost-cutting measure as a public benefit. “This could be a cost savings move for Verizon Wireless, which could be a result of a larger strategic decision to use their resources otherwise on things like buying more spectrum and advertising,” the analyst said.