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Washington--Regulating a proposed 411 wireless directory would be premature and would put "a legislative straightjacket" on the telecommunications industry, industry representatives told a congressional subcommittee here today. The subcommittee is proposing administrative legislation to oversee a planned 411 wireless directory.

The hearing, the latest act in the continuing drama over the proposal, drew both proponents and critics to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

More Important Things to Do?

"It seems to me that Congress has a lot more important things to do" in response to consumer harm, says Steve Largent, president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, which represents the companies that want to create the directory.

Largent says the directory is essential to small-business owners who rely on their cell phones more than on their home phones as a means for people to contact them. But backers of the bill contend the legislation is necessary to ensure that cell phone users' numbers remain private after the directory is created.

"Privacy is rooted in freedom--the freedom to not have your personal life be intruded upon without your permission," says Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts), a co-sponsor of the bill.

The legislation is moving along slowly. According to committee spokesman Joe Tripp, the hearing was held to discuss the issues with industry leaders. No markup of the legislation has been scheduled, and no schedule exists for sending it to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for a hearing or for a vote.

Voluntary Sign-Up

Patrick Cox, CEO of Qsent, the company contracted to create the directory, assured the panel that his company would include safeguards to protect consumer privacy. Cox says that signing up for the service would proceed on an opt-in basis--meaning that customers' numbers would not appear unless the customers agreed to have them listed.

Adds Largent, "You don't have to do a thing to keep your number unlisted in the world we're proposing."

According to Cox, the centralized database of wireless numbers would not be made available on the Internet, nor would it be accessible by companies for sales calls.

Industry Built Distrust

Some representatives, however, expressed skepticism at the promises of an industry that appears to have changed its policy on the wireless directory over the past two years. Representative Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) and Markey note that, 18 months ago, plans for the wireless directory didn't have an opt-in requirement and left open the possibility of charging for the service.

"Legislation is necessary because all we have is promises from the carrier," says Pitts, who introduced the bill. "While these promises are greatly appreciated, we need a law."

Part of the lawmakers' distrust arises from language buried in many cell phone user agreements stating that the company can add all users to a directory and in some cases can charge them for it.

"What's to stop them from charging?" asks Senator Barbara Boxer, (D-California), who spoke at the hearing in favor of the bill. Boxer introduced an identical bill in the Senate that has passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Bill supporters also object to the fact that cell phone users, unlike people who use land lines, pay for incoming calls as well as for outgoing calls. The implication is that the cell phone companies could force customers to pay for phone calls they don't want to receive.

"We pay whenever we use [cell phones], even for incoming calls," Boxer says.

What Customers Want

A study by AARP, the nation's largest organization of retirees, was also introduced as evidence. The study showed that a vast majority of cell phone users oppose creation of such a directory. According to the study, only 10 percent of wireless owners between the ages of 18 and 49 want to be listed in such a directory, and only 6 percent of those between the ages of 50 and 64 do.

"It is very rare that we see the American people gather around the notion of privacy, as we see here," Boxer says.

But Largent says that the small percentage of interested individuals still represents about 17 million customers. "We listen to those customers," Largent says.

The proposed directory would link the numbers of users of six of the seven largest wireless companies in the country--Alltel, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint PCS, and T-Mobile. The numbers would be available in conjunction with the numbers listed on the current 411 land line directory. Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless company in the country, adamantly opposes the directory and refuses to participate in the project.

Safety Concerns and Preemptive Legislation

Boxer expresses concern that the directory could compromise customers' safety. She worries that "any stranger, any stalker," could obtain cell phone numbers for children and teenagers. Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Florida), however, points out that a customer must be 18 to sign a user agreement, so parents have the option of opting out of the directory on behalf of their children.

To head off potential privacy violations, lawmakers want legislation in place before the service becomes available.

"An unregulated directory of wireless phone numbers is a problem," Boxer notes. Boxer says that she advocates early regulation "instead of having to fix the chaos once Pandora's box is opened."