Contact centers originating calls must comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”, see 47 U.S.C. §227) that regulates originating calls using certain types of equipment. Specifically, the TCPA prohibits using an automated telephone dialing system (“autodialer”) under certain conditions (e.g., without prior express consent) to place a call to any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. Thus, if a particular telephone number is subject to the TCPA's prohibition of using an autodialer, a contact center should manually dial the number until express written consent is provided by the called party to receive calls at that number. Once consent has been provided, the contact center may then use an autodialer to dial the number. Telephone numbers that are commonly subject to the TCPA include wireless numbers and landline numbers tied to measured service in which the parties associated with these numbers are charged for usage, such as the number of minutes used in receiving and placing calls associated with these numbers.
With that said, in various circumstances, a contact center attempting to reach an individual may discover the individual is using a telephone number that has been assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. In some instances, certain aspects of the telephone number may be known prior to dialing. For example, it may be known, or it may be readily ascertainable, that the number is assigned to a cellular telephone service. There are various service providers that provide this information upon request. However, other numbers may be associated with a service for which the called party is charged for the call that cannot be readily ascertainable. For example, a wireline (e.g., a.k.a. landline) telephone number may be associated with a billing plan where the subscribed is charged on a per-call basis in some manner. This is referred to herein as a “measured-service” rate plan. It may be difficult to ascertain prior to calling the number that the number is associated with such a rate (billing) plan. However, once this is known, or until this is known, the contact center may choose to follow certain procedures to ensure the number is not dialed using an autodialer.
Thus, a need in the industry exists for ensuring that compliance-related regulations and policies are adhered to by the contact center while also complying with the TCPA mandate that prohibits using an “autodialer” to call certain numbers without prior express consent. It is against this backdrop that the concepts and technologies disclosed herein are presented.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds