A US$33 million state-ordered program to educate the public on the privacy risks of Caller ID was a little more successful than Pacific Bell had anticipated - or wanted.
Caller ID, which displays the numbers of calling parties, can earn the telco up to US$11.50 per subscriber per month. But so many privacy-conscious Californians have apparently asked to have their numbers totally blocked, that the service appears to have lost its value.
Now the company is running newspaper and radio ads claiming that even Mom won't know her children are calling if they have total blocking option. The ads state that once someone elects complete blocking, his phone number will never be able to go through, a fact that is only partially true.
Barry Fraser, staff counsel with Utility Consumers Action Network, said the ads are misleading because they leave out the fact that a customer can dial *82 to pass along his number whenever he chooses. Fraser is drafting a protest letter asking state regulators to force PacBell to withdraw the ads.
Despite the seeming deception, Fraser took comfort in an underlying message of the ads - more people are selecting complete blocking. "The more people who choose complete blocking, the less valuable Caller ID is to PacBell," he said.
PacBell refuses to release data on how many customers requested complete blocking, and how many signed up for Caller ID.
PacBell officials said the ad campaign was designed to clarify customer confusion over full blocking.
