Teleblock
Encyclopedia
TeleBlock is a software program that automatically screens and blocks outbound calls against available federal, state, wireless, third party and in-house Do-Not-Call (DNC) lists
United States National Do Not Call Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry is intended to give U.S. consumers an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. To register by telephone , consumers may call 1-888-382-1222. The registry was set to begin in 2003, but a court challenge delayed its implementation until 2004. The...

. Designed for use in telemarketing
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches...

 and outbound call centers, TeleBlock is applied to a subscriber's telephone carrier provided voice lines or delivered through their predictive dialing and Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...

 (CRM) software. The system triggers all predetermined outbound calls to query a proprietary customer specific DNC database in real-time.

History

On November 9, 1999 Dean Garfinkel, CEO of Call Compliance, Inc., filed a patent for a "call blocking system." The patent describes a call blocking system as:

"The integration of various federally required and state mandated do-not-call lists for telemarketers into a system that automatically blocks outgoing calls from a number of companies ("Customer Companies") taking into account factors such as preexisting customers which may legally be contacted is disclosed. The system reviews outgoing calls by a telemarketer, compares it to the general do-not-call lists and the specific customer company do-not-call list and override permitted call list to make a determination if the call should be completed. This integration is due to the incorporation of a general purpose computer in a central location that is connected to all the major telephone carriers switch cluster locations and operated by a service provider. The "do-not-call" database of originating/destination pairs, as well as the logic for blocking or permitting telephone calls, is stored in this computer. This computer makes all blocking decisions in real-time based on the originating and destination number combinations of the call."


The patent was issue on December 11, 2001.

Government testimony

In a statement to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) regarding Do Not Call regulations in the US, Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, commented on the effectiveness of TeleBlock. In his comments Carter stated that TeleBlock has "supplied a cost-effective, straightforward tool for telemarketers to comply with the Commission's Rules, the Federal Trade Commission's Rules, and the various state rules governing telephone solicitations." Carter went on to say, "TeleBlock has yet to see one of its customers fined."

State DNC rules

Some companies such as Call Compliance, Inc. offer a list of all state DNC regulations in one area

International

In September 2008, Canada opened registration to the Canadian DNC
Canadian Do Not Call List
The National Do Not Call List allows residents of Canada to decide whether or not to receive telemarketing calls. It was first announced by the Government of Canada on December 13, 2004.The DNC list has been labelled a "disaster"...

list to the general public. Three Canadian service providers--VanillaSoft, Thunder CRM, and MarkeTel--are offering TeleBlock in Canada.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK