Listing the Great Unlisted

There are about 140 million wireless subscribers in the U.S., and every one of them has the same problem. No, it's not the sterilizing effects of cell phone emissions. (You did hear about that, right?) It's that there is no convenient, 411-type access to wireless numbers that they haven't already committed to memory, their PDAs or their phone books.

Dean Becker, the founder, CEO and chairman of Palm Beach, Fla.-based 422 inc., wants to change all that by launching a national wireless directory assistance service by early 2004. The 411 on 422 is that it would set up “neutral integration centers” throughout the U.S. to manage customer databases provided by wireless carriers.

Anticipating privacy concerns, Becker assures that no customer data would be shared or sold; for the same reason, wireless customers dialing the 422 short-code would be connected to an operator, who would then connect the call, but not provide the actual number. Recipients could decide whether to take the call simply by reviewing the caller ID function, and if so release their number to the 422 caller. Only the initiator would be charged for the call.

All customers of wireless carriers contracted with 422 inc. would automatically be included in the database but would be able to opt out at a later date. Becker acknowledged that strategy could be a sticking point, given that consumers generally prefer to opt into services, particularly those they might view as obtrusive. Earlier this year, for instance, Qwest Communications came under fire in Washington state for an opt-out strategy concerning the sharing of customer information between internal units.

“We're going to see how that plays out with the wireless carriers,” Becker said. “That's still one point that's up in the air.”

Also uncertain is whether wireless carriers will buy into his premise. Becker said he currently is in negotiations with three of the nation's largest carriers — though he declined to name them — but will need to get most, if not all, of them to sign on. Otherwise, coverage holes could develop that would make the service frustrating for users at best and practically useless at worst.

“It's a bit like the fax machine — if you and I have a fax machine, it's nice, but the value is quite low because it's just you and I,” said Andrew Cole, head of the wireless practice at Adventis. “But if everyone has a fax machine, the value exponentially increases.”

Fears over how customers might react to receiving a directory-assisted call might keep wireless carriers from opting into Becker's program, said Tole Hart, Gartner's senior analyst of wireless services.

“Some people just don't want to be bothered, and the potential downfall is the backlash from the people who would be receiving the calls,” Hart said. “They might want to consider doing this as a SMS message, so you know you can opt out if you want.”

Billing is another hurdle, said a spokeswoman for AT&T Wireless: “Unlike Europe and other places, ‘calling-party-pays’ isn't something that we're used to here in the U.S.”

Also, carriers have too much on their plates to pay much attention to Becker's proposal right now, Cole said. “As the market has slowed down, some of these carriers have realized that they have created extremely complex businesses and they have a lot of problems internally,” he said. “There are a lot of other issues that are taking priority.”

Nevertheless, Becker is undeterred — and at an estimated $1.25 per call, he said there are literally billions of reasons why wireless carriers will eventually get on board. If he's wrong, 422 may need to make a call of its own — to 911.