The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) and the E-Mail Service Provider Coalition (ESPC) have withdrawn their petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) regarding the Commission’s Wireless Domain Name List. The DMA and ESPC had filed a petition for a 90-day waiver of the Commission’s mobile service commercial messages (MCSMs) rules in March 2005. Today, The DMA and ESPC withdrew this petition because the FCC, in response to concerns raised, has updated its Wireless Domain Name List and removed from the list those domains that included non-wireless subscribers.
"We are pleased that the FCC acted swiftly to respond to our concerns, assess the situation, and take corrective action," said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs at The DMA. "This will go a long way in helping legitimate marketers comply fully with these new requirements."
In accordance with the CAN-SPAM Act, marketers are prohibited from initiating or sending most electronic commercial messages to any address associated with subscription to a wireless service, unless the individual addressee has given the sender express prior authorization.
Earlier this year, the FCC made available to the public a list of wireless domain names. These are domains that are used to transmit electronic messages to subscribers of commercial mobile services, such as cellular service, Personal Communications Service (PCS), and enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio Services (SMRS).
When the FCC first issued the list in February, marketers were given 30 days to comply.
But when reviewing the initial list, many companies had serious concerns about domains included on the list that contained both wireless and non-wireless subscribers, resulting in the need to remove or obtain additional consent for large numbers of e-mail addresses in order to send commercial e-mail to such addresses.
Based on feedback from member companies, The DMA and ESPC filed a petition with the FCC asking for a 90-day delay in the deadline for implementation of the list. The purpose of this was to allow for these issues to be resolved and to provide additional time for marketers to obtain the required permissions to continue marketing to customers on these "dual domains."
Because of these corrective actions, The DMA and ESPC have withdrawn their formal petition. All DMA and ESPC members are urged to immediately check the updated list, which is available online at www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/DomainNameDownload.html, and to actively monitor changes over the next several weeks, as the FCC continues its updates.
The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading trade association for businesses and organizations interested in direct, interactive, and database marketing, which in 2004 generated more than $2.3 trillion in US sales, including $143.3 billion in catalog sales and $52.5 billion in Web-driven sales. In addition to catalogs and the Web, DMA members employ a wide variety of marketing media, including mail, e-mail, telephone, newspapers and magazines, interactive television, and radio, among others. Founded in 1917, The DMA today has more than 5,200 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 44 other nations, including 55 companies listed on the Fortune 100. Reflecting the significant and growing role that direct marketing plays in today's advertising mix, The DMA's membership represents marketers from every business segment, including catalogers, Internet retailers, retail stores, nonprofit organizations, advertising agencies, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, industrial manufacturers, and a host of other vertical segments, as well as the service industries that support marketers
