Telecom Trends

The CRTC's decision earlier this week (2008-6) has a clear listing of Telemarketing rules in its Appendix.

These are actually quite useful for consumers and callers alike as a single collection point for all of the current regulations applying to unsolicited calls, whether from live humans, fax broadcasts or those pesky automatic dialing announcement devices.

Among other items, it clarifies the requirements for those fax broadcast people who, I think get paid by the maker of my fax machine (in order to help them sell more toner cartridges).

A telemarketer sending a fax telemarketing telecommunication shall clearly provide the following information at the top of the first page in font size 12 or larger:

(a) the name of the telemarketer sending the fax, whether the telemarketing telecommunication is made on its own behalf or on behalf of a client of the telemarketer;

(b) the name of the client when the telemarketing telecommunication is being made on behalf of a client of the telemarketer;

(c) the originating date and time of the fax;

(d) a voice and a fax telecommunications number that allows access to an employee or other representative of the telemarketer and, where applicable, the client of the telemarketer, for the purpose of asking questions, making comments about the telemarketing telecommunication, or making or verifying a do not call request; and

(e) the name and address of an employee or other representative of the telemarketer and, where applicable, the client of the telemarketer, to whom the consumer can write for the purpose of asking questions, making comments about the fax, or making or verifying a do not call request.

Right. I have never received this much information in the entire junk fax, let alone all at the top in "font size 12".

Like voice-based telemarketers, how will any of these rules stop unwanted communications that originate off-shore? Why is there no clear statement that simply states that all clients need to register and need to ensure that telemarketing performed on their behalf conforms to these rules?

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