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Awhile back we published a post titled “Is the Directory Doomed?” in which we reflected on some recent attempts to reduce waste by curtailing the production and distribution of print versions of phone books. Last Friday, May 7th, The New York Times published a story about Verizon’s push for an exemption to the requirement that it deliver White Pages directories to all New York residents (they are also targeting New Jersey, and similar exemptions have been granted to AT&T elsewhere). Verizon’s petition makes the argument, by now familiar, that most people use the internet or directory services to find phone numbers and that altering the regulations would eliminate a significant amount of waste and liberate consumers from what many have come to view as an annoyance rather than a useful commodity:
Verizon encourages the Commission to follow the lead of other environmentally conscious states that have allowed local telephone companies to provide customers with residential white pages on demand. Not only will granting the waiver benefit the environment, it will unburden customers that have no use for printed directories. [source]
In our previous post we wondered what would happen, under such a plan, to those who are unwilling or unable to keep up with technological trends. According to the Times “[c]ustomers who prefer to look up phone numbers the old-fashioned way or, like Steve Martin’s character in ‘The Jerk,’ get a thrill from seeing their names in print, would still be able to have the White Pages delivered to them in book form or on compact disc.” Verizon’s petition makes it clear that this service would come at no cost: “If the waiver is granted, Verizon will make residential white page directory listings available to customers upon request in printed form, on CD-ROM, or on-line at no charge, and will continue delivery of printed directories that include the business and government white pages and the consumer guide.”
We also wondered whether the trend would be opt-out or opt-in. It looks like opt-in will be the way if Verizon wins the day.
More on the web:
Patrick McGeehan, “White Pages May Go Way of Rotary-Dialed Phone“, The New York Times (5/7/2010).
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