I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3558
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to protect the privacy rights 
of subscribers to wireless communications services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 20, 2003
Mr. PITTS (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to protect the 
privacy rights of subscribers to wireless communications 
services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wireless 411 Privacy 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are roughly 150 million wireless sub-
scribers in the United States, up from approximately 
15 million subscribers just a decade ago.
(2) Wireless phone service has proven valuable 
to millions of Americans because of its mobility, and 
the fact that government policies have expanded op-
portunities for new carriers to enter the market, of-
fering more choices and ever lower prices for con-
sumers. 
(3) In addition to the benefits of competition 
and mobility, subscribers also benefit from the fact 
that wireless phone numbers have not been publicly 
available. 
(4) Up until now, the privacy of wireless sub-
scribers has been safeguarded and thus vastly dimin-
ished the likelihood of subscribers receiving un-
wanted or annoying phone call interruptions on their 
wireless phones. 
(5) Moreover, because their wireless contact in-
formation, such as their phone number, have never 
been publicly available in any published directory or 
from any directory assistance service, subscribers 
have come to expect that if their phone rings it’s 
likely to be a call from someone to whom they have 
personally given their number. 
(6) The wireless industry is poised to begin im-
plementing a directory assistance service so that 
callers can reach wireless subscribers, including sub-
scribers who have not given such callers their wire-
less phone number. 
(7) While some wireless subscribers may find 
such directory assistance service useful, current sub-
scribers deserve the right to choose whether they 
want to participate in such a directory. 
(8) Because wireless users are typically charged 
for incoming calls, consumers must be afforded the 
ability to maintain the maximum amount of control 
over how many calls they may expect to receive and, 
in particular, control over the disclosure of their 
wireless phone number. 
(9) Current wireless subscribers who elect to 
participate, or new wireless subscribers who decline 
to be listed, in any new wireless directory assistance 
service directory, including those subscribers who 
also elect not to receive forwarded calls from any 
wireless directory assistance service, should not be 
charged for exercising such rights. 
(10) The marketplace has not yet adequately 
explained an effective plan to protect consumer pri-
vacy rights. 
(11) Congress previously acted to protect the 
wireless location information of subscribers by enact-
ing prohibitions on the disclosure of such sensitive in
formation without the express prior authorization of 
the subscriber. 
(12) The public interest would be served by 
similarly enacting effective and industry-wide privacy 
protections for consumers with respect to wireless 
directory assistance service. 
SEC. 3. CONSUMER CONTROL OF WIRELESS PHONE NUM-
BERS. 
Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 332(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) WIRELESS CONSUMER PRIVACY PROTEC-
TION.—
‘‘(A) CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS.—A provider 
of commercial mobile services, or any direct or 
indirect affiliate or agent of such a provider, 
may not include the wireless telephone number 
information of any current subscriber in any 
wireless directory assistance service database 
unless—
‘‘(i) the mobile service provider pro-
vides a conspicuous, separate notice to the 
subscriber informing the subscriber of the 
right not to be listed in any wireless direc-
tory assistance service; and
‘‘(ii) the mobile service provider ob-
tains express prior authorization for listing 
from such subscriber, separate from any 
authorization obtained to provide such sub-
scriber with commercial mobile service, or 
any calling plan or service associated with 
such commercial mobile service, and such 
authorization has not been subsequently 
withdrawn. 
‘‘(B) NEW SUBSCRIBERS.—A provider of 
commercial mobile services, or any direct or in-
direct affiliate or agent of such a provider, may 
include the wireless telephone number informa-
tion of any new subscriber in a wireless direc-
tory assistance service database only if the com-
mercial mobile service provider—
‘‘(i) provides a conspicuous, separate 
notice to the subscriber, at the time of en-
tering into an agreement to provide com-
mercial mobile service, and at least once a 
year thereafter, informing the subscriber of 
the right not to be listed in any wireless di-
rectory assistance service database; and 
‘‘(ii) provides the subscriber with con-
venient mechanisms by which the sub-
scriber may decline or refuse to participate 
in such database, including mechanisms at 
the time of entering into an agreement to 
provide commercial mobile service, in the 
billing of such service, and when receiving 
any connected call from a wireless direc-
tory assistance service. 
‘‘(C) CALL FORWARDING.—A provider of 
commercial mobile services, or any direct or in-
direct affiliate or agent of such provider, may 
connect a calling party from a wireless directory 
assistance service to a commercial mobile serv-
ice subscriber only if—
‘‘(i) such subscriber is provided prior 
notice of the calling party’s identity and is 
permitted to accept or reject the incoming 
call on a per-call basis; 
‘‘(ii) such subscriber’s wireless tele-
phone number information is not disclosed 
to the calling party; and 
‘‘(iii) such subscriber is not an un-
listed commercial mobile service subscriber. 
‘‘(D) PUBLICATION OF DIRECTORIES PRO-
HIBITED.—A provider of commercial mobile 
services, or any direct or indirect affiliate or
agent of such a provider, may not publish, in 
printed, electronic, or other form, the contents 
of any wireless directory assistance service 
database, or any portion or segment thereof. 
‘‘(E) NO CONSUMER FEE FOR RETAINING 
PRIVACY.—A provider of commercial mobile 
services may not charge any subscriber for exer-
cising any of the rights under this paragraph. 
‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
paragraph—
‘‘(i) the term ‘current subscriber’ 
means any subscriber to commercial mobile 
service as of the date when a wireless di-
rectory assistance service is implemented 
by a provider of commercial mobile service; 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘new subscriber’ means 
any subscriber to commercial mobile serv-
ice who becomes a subscriber after the 
date when a wireless directory assistance 
service is implemented by a provider of 
commercial mobile service, and includes 
any subscriber of a different provider of 
commercial mobile service who subse-
quently switches to a new provider of com-
mercial mobile service;
‘‘(iii) the term ‘wireless telephone 
number information’ means the telephone 
number, electronic address, and any other 
identifying information by which a calling 
party may reach a subscriber to commer-
cial mobile services, and which is assigned 
by a commercial mobile service provider to 
such subscriber, and includes such sub-
scriber’s name and address; 
‘‘(iv) the term ‘wireless directory as-
sistance service’ means any service for con-
necting calling parties to a subscriber of 
commercial mobile service when such call-
ing parties themselves do not possess such 
subscriber’s wireless telephone number in-
formation; and 
‘‘(v) the term ‘calling party’s identity’ 
means the telephone number of the calling 
party or the name of subscriber to such 
telephone, or an oral or text message which 
provides sufficient information to enable a 
commercial mobile services subscriber to 
determine who is calling; 
‘‘(vi) the term ‘unlisted commercial 
mobile services subscriber’ means—