FCC Bombshells

Here’s the key line:

“We believe that the calling practices these rules target might no longer be a significant source of consumer frustration. That might be because calling practices involving the use of predictive dialers have evolved to become more efficient, rendering our rules no longer necessary to protect consumers.”

That’s an extraordinary statement. The FCC appears to be saying: “Dialers have matured; regulation is no longer needed”.

Revolutionary? Maybe. Matured? Not even close.

Most “predictive” dialers still depend on crude algorithms that can’t achieve performance without nuisance calls:  cancel dials, silent calls, abandoned calls. And the cost of these in both loss of reputation and loss of opportunity is substantial. The FCC seems to be taking vendor marketing at face value, or perhaps it simply wants the problem off its desk. But complete deregulation puts consumers in the driving seat and might just work!

Caller ID – the Other Shock

The NPRM also signals a tougher regime for caller identity:

• If you’re operating offshore and spoofing contacts, forget it.
• If you rotate domestic CLIs to hide who you are, those days are over.

Verification and ringback will expose you instantly.

And consumers? They won’t even get that far. Calls that show only a number will be ignored. Once the floodgates open, expect a surge of dialer traffic followed by collapse as answer rates fall through the floor.

Carriers will add their own brake. They have no interest in millions of short-duration calls clogging their networks. As live-call ratios sink, many dialer operators will simply walk away.

So What Happens Next?

If you’re a responsible business that values outbound voice, this is both a warning and an opportunity.

1. Get the right dialer: You’ll need one that performs with an absolute minimum of nuisance calls;  otherwise you are going to get a thumbs down from your customers. And don’t get excited about the ban on cancel dials being lifted.  Consumers hate them; indulge in this practice and this time consumers will know it’s you. 
2. Identify yourself clearly: Use branded or verified caller identity: the new generation of services that let your business name and logo appear on the call screen. For example: FNB State, where “FNB” stands for First National Bank and “State” defines region. Add a full stop and you’ve got a fake. Most consumers won’t notice.
3. So protect your name and ward off lookalikes. Work through your carrier or one of the emerging verified identity registries to authenticate and lock down your calling identity. If you don’t, someone else will and your customers will be answering to them, not you.
4. Be transparent. Publish your calling policy. Tell customers you dial responsibly, that abandons are rare, and that when one happens, you call back immediately with an agent waiting.

Reputational damage will be quick for anyone who doesn’t.

The Bigger Picture

For decades, dialer vendors have dictated terms: “buy our dialer; it’s great.”

That era is ending. Customers are taking the wheel.

If you want to show your name proudly on a call, you need a dialer that operates cleanly, not one that hides behind excuses or regulatory grey zones.

The FCC is right about one thing: it’s time to remove the straitjacket of click-to-dial, the workaround that sticks to the letter of the law but breaks the spirit of it. This is long overdue. 

But if the FCC believe the market can police itself, they’re in for a rocky ride. The coming upheaval will expose the difference between marketing promises and engineering reality.

Where Sytel Stands

At Sytel, we’ve already built what others just talk about, a predictive dialer that delivers excellent performance without cancel dials, silent calls, or consumer abuse.

And when a rare abandoned call does occur, we do the responsible thing: apologise and reconnect immediately, with an agent ready to talk. It works.

That’s how you get customers picking up your calls and protecting your reputation.

We want our dialer to be not only highly productive but to also provide excellent CX.  Our years of continual dialer innovation allow us to make that promise.

If you want to stay ahead as this new landscape takes shape, let’s talk – sales@sytel.com