Verizon Cleared To Use Retention Marketing Data

Cable operators -- including Bright House Networks, Time Warner Cable and Comcast -- filed a formal complaint against the Verizon in February, alleging that Verizon's practices -- using information gleaned from competitors, who submit requests to port a user's number from Verizon to a new provider -- violate a section of the Communications Act of 1934. That section prevents the use of information provided by one provider to another for a specific purpose, such as porting a number, to be used for a different purpose, such as marketing. The operators allege that, since 2007, when they submit a request to Verizon to move a subscriber’s number to an operator's telephone operation, Verizon uses the information to create a lead list. The switching consumers are then contacted and offered discounts or premiums such as American Express gift cards to get them to stay with Verizon. Now Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Anne Monteith says Verizon can continue the practise and has recommended that the commission launch a rulemaking in order to make retention marketing practices consistent across all platforms.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6551698.html?nid=4262