WPRI Channel 12 - Providence, Rhode Island

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Caution: Unidentified callers ahead

Caution: Unidentified callers ahead
Phone companies fail to provide some IDs because of the cost of obtaining the data
By Bruce Mohl
July 9, 2006

Some callers can’t be identifi ed because their information is blocked or unavailable, but in other
cases the callers aren’t named because the customer’s phone company simply doesn’t want to spend the money to obtain the data.
A small Globe test of caller ID accuracy found several instances where Verizon Communications and Comcast Corp. didn’t provide a caller’s name because they didn’t want to pay the extra money.
The price is minimal on a per-call basis -- often a penny or less a call -- but spread across a telecommunications giant’s many customers, it can quickly run into the tens of millions of dollars.
A spokesman for Verizon said the company provides excellent caller ID service, culling names from its own vast database and also spending tens of millions of dollars each year to access additional names from other telecommunications companies.
``We do not buy data from some smaller companies because the cost to do so doesn’t justify the
relatively little data that we don’t already have,” said Verizon spokesman Philip G. Santoro . ``We’re giving customers as much as anyone could give them without making it cost prohibitive for us.”
Comcast spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman said the cable giant contracts with a national database
company for its caller ID services. She said it was her understanding that the company buys name data from most telecommunications companies.
Caller ID is a hugely popular service, allowing consumers to see the name and number of who is calling so they can decide whether to take the call or return it later.
In Massachusetts, 65 percent of Verizon’s 1.7 million landline customers have caller ID. Four of every five customers with caller ID have it as part of a bundle of telecommunications services. The a la carte price is $7.95 a month, and is scheduled to rise to $8.20 a month on Saturday .
Comcast charges $6.75 a month on an a la carte basis, but a spokeswoman said most customers
receive it as part of a bundled package.
Caller ID works by matching a number with a name. For a company like Verizon, caller ID information is easy and inexpensive to retrieve in its own service area because the caller is probably one of the firm’s own customers. But identifying the name of someone calling from outside the company’s service area requires the firm to purchase that information from the caller’s phone company.
On its website, Verizon explains that the caller ID service will not always generate the name and number of the caller. When that happens, the website says, a message will be displayed explaining why.
The messages vary depending on the customer’s display unit, but Verizon identifi ed ``out of area” or ``unavailable” as messages that would pop up for calls made from outside ``specially equipped areas” and calls made through an operator. The messages ``private” or ``anonymous” would appear for calls made by people who have blocked the display of their telephone information. Industry officials says it’s also diffi cult to identify the names of people making calls using operators, toll-free numbers, or from businesses with their own phone systems. Names are also not available for consumers with dial-around long-distance service or customers of telecommunications companies that don’t store name data, including many wireless carriers.
M. Gregory Smith , chief executive of Accudata Technologies of Allen, Texas, a company that aggregates and sells data attached to phone numbers, said many telecommunications companies shortchange their caller ID customers by failing to purchase name data from smaller telecom companies. He said Verizon is one of the worst offenders.
``They don’t want to pay the going price,” Smith said.
Santoro of Verizon indicated Accudata charges too much for the calling name data it has for a number of smaller telecom companies. ``We don’t think this guy’s data is worth the money,” Santoro said. He declined to discuss the two companies’ pricing.
Smith said his prices are more reasonable than Verizon’s. He said Verizon charges 1.6 cents for each calling name Accudata purchases, but Accudata would be willing to charge Verizon half that . Smith said Accudata spends more than $1 million a year purchasing data from Verizon.
To test whether caller ID customers are getting their money’s worth, the Globe arranged for five people to call numbers here in Massachusetts belonging to a Verizon and a Comcast customer with caller ID. All of the calls came from out of state, one each from New York, Missouri, and Washington, and two from Texas.
The Verizon customer’s caller ID was able to identify only the caller from New York, who presumably was in Verizon’s database. For the other four calls, only the state the call was coming from was identified.
The Comcast caller ID correctly identifi ed the callers from New York and Missouri and listed the other three as ``unknown name.”
Verizon and Comcast said they couldn’t provide names for the two Texas numbers because they were in Accudata’s database, and neither company purchases data from Accudata. Verizon didn’t come up with the Missouri name because it doesn’t purchase name data from Southwestern Bell Co., which is now part of AT&T. Comcast’s caller ID provider did purchase the Southwestern Bell name and the Verizon name.
The fifth caller from Washington wasn’t identifi ed by either company, presumably because he is living in a furnished apartment where phone service is supplied by the landlord.
Santoro of Verizon said the Globe’s small sample was not statistically valid, and added that Verizon would have done much better in a larger test involving name data from larger telecom companies.
Santoro said Verizon customers are very satisfi ed with the company’s caller ID service. ``We haven’t had one call about this from the millions of customers we serve,” Santoro said.
But complaint calls may not be a good barometer of caller ID service quality, since it’s nearly impossible to know when a caller’s name is unavailable for a legitimate reason and when it’s unavailable because the company is trying to cut costs and increase its profits.

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GovTrack: H.R. 5126 [109th]: Text of Legislation

1) IN GENERAL- It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States, in connection with any telecommunications service or VOIP service, to cause any caller identification service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information, with the intent to defraud or cause harm.
`(2) PROTECTION FOR BLOCKING CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION- Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent or restrict any person from blocking the capability of any caller identification service to transmit caller identification information.
`(3) REGULATIONS- Not later than 6 months after the enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement this subsection.

"H.R. 5126 [109th]: Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006"


GovTrack: H.R. 5126 [109th]: Text of Legislation:

Calls From the Wild

Caller ID Doesn't Always Give a Number -- to the Providers' Benefit
Don Oldenburg - Washington Post
May 21, 2006

Unknown, unavailable, out of area, anonymous, private. Clues to some Da Vinci Code mystery? Not exactly, but some experts say this string of words is now widely associated with another mystery. They’re the display messages that appear when Caller ID doesn’t ID the caller.
But, wait a second, why doesn’t Caller ID identify every call and caller?
Good question, says Greg Smith, president and chief executive of Accudata Technologies in Allen, Texas, who thinks consumers who regularly see these terms flash on their Caller ID displays should be asking that of their telephone carriers.
"The caller’s number should always show unless there is some technical difficulty. But the `unknown,’ `unavailable’ and `out of area’ . . . you should never get those," he says. "We all do get them, and the reason we do is we are all getting cheated."
Telephone companies have the technology not only to identify the number in nearly 100 percent of the calls you receive, says Smith, but also to identify the caller’s name -- or at least the name listed on the phone’s account. But how often does that happen? Half the time? Less?
"It is a financial decision some of these telephone carriers make," Smith says of why Caller ID services sometimes don’t deliver.
In the spirit of full disclosure, you should know that Accudata Technologies is one of about 20 line information database (LIDB) companies nationwide in the business of collecting, storing and delivering telephone information -- including providing names and numbers of callers displayed via Caller ID. When a phone company can’t find a caller’s name and number in its database, it has to reach into other phone-info databases, such as Accudata’s, and pay a small fee.
But some phone-service providers are unwilling to dip into the appropriate LIDB to provide the Caller ID info their customers are paying $6 to $8 for each month.
When calls come from outside the service provider’s system, they require going to outside databases to fetch the info. At a penny per look-up, those Caller ID calls would cost a phone company about $1 a month per Caller ID customer.
Chicken feed? Not when you figure that the nation’s three biggest telecommunications companies -- Verizon Communications Inc., BellSouth Corp. and AT&T Inc. -- provide local and wireless phone service to more than 200 million customers. The savings for not paying the penny can be millions to tens of millions of dollars each month.
But the telephone companies say there are calls that Caller ID simply can’t identify by name or number. And then there’s the Caller ID spoofing that’s making news lately. Illegal telemarketers, con artists -- anyone -- can change how their phone numbers or names appear on Caller ID using spoofing technology available online. Callers can hide their identities or even make it appear that their calls are coming from your bank or the police.
Smith says the problem is that customers are conditioned to accept spotty Caller ID service as normal, and phone companies aren’t going to go the distance to provide better service unless consumers demand it. He urges consumers to complain to their phone companies and to the Federal Communications Commission if their Caller ID is hit-or-miss. "It requires an educated consumer today, someone who’s willing to say, `Dad-gummit, I’m paying for this.’ You have to at least try."

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Attorney Generals Contact Info

Alabama:
Troy King (R)
(334) 242-7300
State House, 11 S. Union St. Montgomery, AL 36130
http://www.ago.state.al.us

Alaska:
Talis J. Colberg (R)
(907) 465-3600
P.O. Box 110300, Diamond Courthouse, Juneau, AK 99811-0300
http://www.law.state.ak.us/

American Samoa:
Malaetasi M. Togafau
(684) 633-4163
American Samoa Gov't, Exec. Ofc. Bldg, Utulei, Territory of American Samoa, Pago Pago, AS 96799
http://www.samoanet.com/asg/asgdla97.html

Arizona:
Terry Goddard (D)
(602) 542-4266
1275 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007
http://www.azag.gov/

Arkansas:
Dustin McDaniel (D)
(800) 482-8982
200 Tower Bldg., 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201-2610
http://www.ag.state.ar.us

California:
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. (D)
(916) 445-9555
1300 I St., Ste. 1740, Sacramento, CA 95814
http://ag.ca.gov

Colorado:
John Suthers (R)
(303) 866-4500
1525 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80203
http://www.ago.state.co.us/index.cfm

Connecticut:
Richard Blumenthal (D)
(860) 808-5318
55 Elm St., Hartford, CT 06141-0120
http://www.ct.gov/ag/

District of Columbia:
Linda Singer (Acting) (D)
(202) 724-1305
John A. Wilson Building, 1350 PA Ave, NW Suite 409, Washington, DC 20009
http://occ.dc.gov

Delaware:
Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III (D)
(302) 577-8338
Carvel State Office Bldg., 820 N. French St., Wilmington, DE 19801
http://www.state.de.us/attgen

Florida:
Bill McCollum (R)
(850) 414-3300
The Capitol, PL 01, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
http://myfloridalegal.com/

Georgia:
Thurbert E. Baker (D)
(404) 656-3300
40 Capitol Square, SW, Atlanta, GA 30334-1300
http://ganet.org/ago/

Guam:
Alicia G. Limtiaco
(671) 475-3409
Judicial Center Bldg., Ste. 2-200E, 120 W. O'Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910
http://www.guamattorneygeneral.com/

Hawaii:
Mark J. Bennett (R)
(808) 586-1500
425 Queen St., Honolulu, HI 96813
http://www.state.hi.us/ag/index.html

Idaho:
Lawrence Wasden (R)
(208) 334-2400
Statehouse, Boise, ID 83720-1000
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/

Illinois:
Lisa Madigan (D)
(312) 814-3000
James R. Thompson Ctr., 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601
http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/

Indiana:
Steve Carter (R)
(317) 232-6201
Indiana Government Center South - 5th Floor, 402 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204
http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/

Iowa:
Tom Miller (D)
(515) 281-5164
Hoover State Office Bldg., 1305 E. Walnut, Des Moines, IA 50319
http://www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org

Kansas:
Paul Morrison (D)
(785) 296-2215
120 S.W. 10th Ave., 2nd Fl., Topeka, KS 66612-1597
http://www.ksag.org/index.shtml

Kentucky:
Greg Stumbo (D)
(502) 696-5300
State Capitol, Rm. 116, Frankfort, KY 40601
http://ag.ky.gov

Louisiana:
Charles Foti (D)
225-326-6000
P.O. Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4095
http://www.ag.state.la.us/

Maine:
G. Steven Rowe (D)
(207) 626-8800
State House Station 6, Augusta, ME 04333
http://www.state.me.us/ag

Maryland:
Douglas F. Gansler (D)
(410) 576-6300
200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202-2202
http://www.oag.state.md.us

Massachusetts:
Martha Coakley (D)
(617) 727-2200
1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108-1698
http://www.ago.state.ma.us

Michigan:
Mike Cox (R)
(517) 373-1110
P.O.Box 30212, 525 W. Ottawa St., Lansing, MI 48909-0212
http://www.ag.state.mi.us

Minnesota:
Lori Swanson (D)
(651) 296-3353
State Capitol, Ste. 102, St. Paul, MN 55155
http://www.ag.state.mn.us

Mississippi:
Jim Hood (D)
(601) 359-3680
Department of Justice, P.O. Box 220, Jackson, MS 37205-0220
http://www.ago.state.ms.us/

Missouri:
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon (D)
(573) 751-3321
Supreme Ct. Bldg., 207 W. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101
http://www.ago.mo.gov/

Montana:
Mike McGrath (D)
(406) 444-2026
Justice Bldg., 215 N. Sanders, Helena, MT 59620-1401
Jon Bruning (R)
(402) 471-2682
State Capitol, P.O.Box 98920, Lincoln, NE 68509-8920
http://www.ago.state.ne.us/

Nevada:
Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
(775) 684-1100
Old Supreme Ct. Bldg., 100 N. Carson St., Carson City, NV 89701
http://ag.state.nv.us/

New Hampshire:
Kelly Ayotte (R)
(603) 271-3658
State House Annex, 33 Capitol St., Concord, NH 03301-6397
http://www.state.nh.us/nhdoj/

New Jersey :
Stuart Rabner (D)
(609) 292-8740
Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, 25 Market St., CN 080, Trenton, NJ 08625
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/

New Mexico:
Gary King (D)
(505) 827-6000
P.O. Drawer 1508, Sante Fe, NM 87504-1508
http://www.ago.state.nm.us

New York:
Andrew Cuomo (D)
(518) 474-7330
Dept. of Law - The Capitol, 2nd fl., Albany, NY 12224
http://www.oag.state.ny.us

Northern Mariana Islands:
Matt Gregory
(670) 664-2341
Caller Box 10007, Capitol Hill, Saipan, MP 95960
http://www.cnmiago.gov.mp/

North Carolina:
Roy Cooper (D)
(919) 716-6400
Dept. of Justice, P.O.Box 629, Raleigh, NC 27602-0629
http://www.ncdoj.com/default.jsp

North Dakota:
Wayne Stenehjem (R)
(701) 328-2210
State Capitol, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0040
http://www.ag.state.nd.us

Ohio:
Marc Dann (D)
(614) 466-4320
State Office Tower, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43266-0410
http://www.ag.state.oh.us

Oklahoma:
W. A. Drew Edmondson (D)
(405) 521-3921
State Capitol, Rm. 112, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105
http://www.oag.state.ok.us

Oregon:
Hardy Myers (D)
(503) 378-4732
Justice Bldg., 1162 Court St., NE, Salem, OR 97301
http://www.doj.state.or.us

Pennsylvania:
Tom Corbett (R)
(717) 787-3391
1600 Strawberry Square, Harrisburg, PA 17120
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov

Puerto Rico:
Roberto J. Sanchez-Ramos
(787) 721-2900
GPO Box 902192, San Juan, PR 00902-0192
http://www.justicia.gobierno.pr

Rhode Island:
Patrick Lynch (D)
(401) 274-4400
150 S. Main St., Providence, RI 02903
http://www.riag.state.ri.us

South Carolina:
Henry McMaster (R)
(803) 734-3970
Rembert C. Dennis Office Bldg., P.O.Box 11549, Columbia, SC 29211-1549
http://www.scattorneygeneral.org

South Dakota:
Larry Long (R)
(605) 773-3215
1302 East Highway 14, Suite 1, Pierre, SD 57501-8501
http://www.state.sd.us/attorney/

Tennessee:
Robert E. Cooper, Jr. (D)
(615) 741-5860
500 Charlotte Ave., Nashville, TN 37243
http://www.attorneygeneral.state.tn.us

Texas:
Greg Abbott (R)
(512) 463-2100
Capitol Station, P.O.Box 12548, Austin, TX 78711-2548
http://www.oag.state.tx.us

Utah:
Mark Shurtleff (R)
(801) 538-9600
State Capitol, Rm. 236, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0810
http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/

Vermont:
William H. Sorrell (D)
(802) 828-3173
109 State St., Montpelier, VT 05609-1001
http://www.state.vt.us/atg

Virgin Islands:
Elliott Davis
(340) 774-5666
Dept. of Justice, G.E.R.S. Complex 488-50C Kronprinsdens Gade, St. Thomas, VI 00802

Virginia:
Bob McDonnell (R)
(804) 786-2071
900 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219
http://www.oag.state.va.us

Washington:
Rob McKenna (R)
(360) 753-6200
900 Fourth Street, Suite 2000, Olympia, WA 98504-0100
http://www.atg.wa.gov/

West Virginia:
Darrell V. McGraw Jr. (D)
(304) 558-2021
State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. , E., Charleston, WV 25305
http://www.wvago.us/

Wisconsin:
J.B. Van Hollen (R)
(608) 266-1221
State Capitol, Ste. 114 E., P.O.Box 7857, Madison, WI 53707-7857
http://www.doj.state.wi.us

Wyoming:
Pat Crank (D)
(307) 777-7841
State Capitol Bldg., Cheyenne, WY 82002
http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/

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