TeleBlock is a software program that automatically screens and blocks outbound calls against available federal, state, wireless, third party, and in-house Do-Not-Call (DNC) lists. Designed for use in

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent f ...

and outbound call centers, TeleBlock is applied to a subscriber's telephone carrier, provided voice lines, or delivered through their predictive dialing and

Customer Relationship Management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. CRM systems compile data from a ra ...

(CRM) software. The system triggers all predetermined outbound calls to query a proprietary customer specific DNC database in real-time.

History

On November 9, 1999, Alison (Garfinkel) Andrews, president and inventor of Call Compliance, and Dean Garfinkel, CEO of Call Compliance, Inc., filed a patentU.S. Patent No. 6,330,317
/ref> for a "call blocking system". The patent describes a call blocking system as:

The integration of various federally required and state mandated do-not-call lists for telemarketers into a system that automatically blocks outgoing calls from a number of companies ("Customer Companies") taking into account factors such as preexisting customers which may legally be contacted is disclosed. The system reviews outgoing calls by a telemarketer, compares it to the general do-not-call lists and the specific customer company do-not-call list and override permitted call list to make a determination if the call should be completed. This integration is due to the incorporation of a general purpose computer in a central location that is connected to all the major telephone carriers switch cluster locations and operated by a service provider. The "do-not-call" database of originating/destination pairs, as well as the logic for blocking or permitting telephone calls, is stored in this computer. This computer makes all blocking decisions in real-time based on the originating and destination number combinations of the call.

The patent was issued on December 11, 2001. In 2010, Teleblock was acquired by Gryphon Networks.

Government testimony

In a statement to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) regarding Do Not Call regulations in the US, Steve Carter, Attorney General of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, commented on the effectiveness of TeleBlock. In his comments, Carter stated that TeleBlock has "supplied a cost-effective, straightforward tool for telemarketers to comply with the Commission's Rules, the Federal Trade Commission's Rules, and the various state rules governing telephone solicitations."STATE OF INDIANA'S COMMENTS
Comments from Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana Carter went on to say, "TeleBlock has yet to see one of its customers fined."

State DNC rules

Some companies, such as Call Compliance, Inc., offer a list of all state DNC regulations in one area.

International

In September 2008, Canada opened registration to the Canadian DNC list to the general public. Three Canadian service providers VanillaSoft, Thunder CRM, and MarkeTel offered TeleBlock in Canada at that time.TMCNet
VanillaSoft Looks to CSC for Canada's Do-Not-Call Law Compliance
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105131732/http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/business_agriculture/story.html?id=2274aed5-895d-4880-8e9e-4e35afdd0254 , date=2012-11-05 , Software helps with 'do not call' compliance

References

Telephony Telemarketing