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 NEWS  6/  30/  200312:  31  PM  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  News  Media  Contact:  June  26,  2003  Rosemary  Kimball  at  (202)  418-  0511 
 e-  mail:  rosemary.  kimball@  fcc.  gov 


 FCC  AUTHORIZES  NATIONWIDE  DO-  NOT-  CALL  REGISTRY  Consumers  Now  Have  Easy  Option  to  Eliminate  Telemarketing  Calls 
 Washington,  D.  C.  -  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  today  updated  its  rules  implementing  the  Telephone  Consumer  Protection  Act  of  1991  (TCPA)  and 
 established  a  national  do-  not-  call  registry  for  consumers  who  wish  to  avoid  telemarketing  calls.  The  registry  is  nationwide  in  scope,  includes  all  telemarketers  (with 
 the  exception  of  certain  non-  profit  organizations),  and  covers  both  interstate  and  intrastate  telemarketing  calls.  Consumers  can  place  their  telephone  numbers  on  the 
 registry  through  one  telephone  call  or  one  Web  click. 
 Unwanted  telemarketing  calls  are  a  national  problem.  The  FCC  has  heard  the  American  consumer  and  responded.  Today’s  expansion  of  the  FCC’s  original  TCPA 
 rules,  adopted  in  1992,  gives  consumers  the  choice  of  whether  or  not  to  receive  telemarketing  calls  in  their  homes. 


 The  telemarketing  industry  has  undergone  significant  changes  in  the  technologies  and  methods  used  to  contact  consumers  which  have  resulted  in  significant 
 growth  in  the  number  of  telemarketing  calls.  There  has  been  a  corresponding  increase  in  consumer  frustration  and  dissatisfaction. 


 Industry  estimates  indicate  that  telemarketers  may  attempt  as  many  as  104  million  calls  to  consumers  and  businesses  every  day.  The  Commission  also  cited 
 dramatic  increases  in  telemarketer  use  of  autodialers,  which  deliver  prerecorded  messages  to  thousands  of  potential  customers  every  day,  and  predictive  dialers,  which 
 initiate  phone  calls  while  telemarketers  are  talking  to  other  consumers  and  which  frequently  abandon  calls  before  a  telemarketer  is  free  to  take  the  next  call. 


 The  Commission  will  implement  the  do-  not-  call  registry  in  conjunction  with  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  (FTC).  The  national  database  will  be  administered  by  the 
 FTC  and  enforcement  will  be  coordinated  between  the  FCC  and  the  FTC.  A  forthcoming  Memorandum  of  Understanding,  signed  by  both  agencies,  will  detail  the 
 enforcement  functions. 
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 the  registry  will  be  available  shortly.  The  registry  will  become  effective  on  October  1,  2003. 
 For  more  information  on  the  FCC’s  telemarketing  rules,  including  the  national  do-not-  call  registry,  visit  the  FCC’s  Web  site  at  www.  fcc.  gov/  cgb/  donotcall. 
 Action  by  the  Commission  June  26,  2003,  by  Report  and  Order  (FCC  03-  153).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Martin,  Copps  and  Adelstein  with 
 Chairman  Powell  and  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps  and  Adelstein  issuing  separate  statements. 


 -  FCC  – 
 CGB  Contacts:  Richard  D.  Smith  at  (202)  418-  2512  and  Erica  McMahon  at  (202)  418-  2512. 
 CG  Docket  02-  278 
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