Seeking to correct one of the most frequent complaints it has received since its inception, the Reassigned Number Database has announced changes to its pricing matrix, which are scheduled to go into effect next month.
The database, which went into effect last year, is a means of allowing entities placing calls to check whether a consumer’s cell phone number has been disconnected or reassigned.
The new pricing matrix includes more tiers and pricing options, especially for those that are not looking to check large quantities of phone numbers.
The original matrix had just six tiers and jumped from $450 for a six-month subscription at Tier 2 to a $15,000 charge for Tier 3. Under the new matrix, there are two new levels between those tiers. The database also adjusted the prices for subscriptions in all the higher-volume tiers as well. The administrator of the database announced that current subscriptions will not be affected.
During a webinar last month, Beth Sprague, the Director of the Reassigned Number Database discussed the pricing for querying the database and how pricing was not yet set in stone.
“Part of our contract with the [Federal Communications Commission] is that we’re required to look at [pricing] on a monthly basis,” she said. “And depending on feedback, plus data, make recommendations about either adding tiers or changing pricing. We’re supposed to do that on a monthly basis. And if we make a recommendation, it can be turned around quite fast. … So I think that we will be making some changes on the tiering.”
A full recording of the webinar is available below.
The FCC has been working on the database — which is intended to be used by callers to determine if a cell phone number has been reassigned to someone other than the individual seeking to be contacted — for more than three years. Knowing that a phone number has been reassigned can tell a company not to contact that number.
