CS410 – Professional Workforce Development
Orange Team
Phone Solicitation
Management System
Feasibility Presentation, 6th March 2008
Presented by Benjamin Leyland
Benjamin
Leyland
 Manager
 Presenter
 Finance
March 6, 2008
2
Travis
Burlock
 Hardware
 Webmaster
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3
Dionna
Diggs
 Asst. Manager
 Legal Eagle
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4
Bob
Larrick
 Software
 Marketing
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5
Josh
Rode
 Documentation
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6
How we’re organized
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THE PROBLEM
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Unwanted phone solicitation
still occurs.
Even with current legislation and the
Do-Not-Call-List.
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Effects of the Problem
 Annoying
 Interrupting
 Waste of time
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What is Phone Solicitation?
 A telephone call that acts as an
advertisement.
 Estimated that 4 million "junk" telephone
calls are made every day in the United
States.
Source 1: FCC (www.fcc.gov)
Source 2: Strangefacts (www.strangefacts.com)
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Current FCC Regulations
Phone solicitors are required to transmit or
display:
- Their contact phone number
- The name of the soliciting company
Source: FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html)
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The Do Not Call List
 Numbers can be registered online or over the
phone.
 The majority of solicitors are prohibited from
calling those on the list.
Source: FCC (www.fcc.gov)
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Who Can Still Call?
 Organizations that you have established a
business relationship with
 Non-profit organizations
 Callers with prior permission
Source: FCC (www.fcc.gov)
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Do Not Call List Statistics
Makes up 76% registered
Registered
Registered and
still receiving
calls
Not Registered
43%
33%
24%
Source: Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com)
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Customer
 Potential customer = 46% of American adults
 76% have placed their phone numbers on the
NDNC registry.
 61% of people on the registry still receive
unsolicited calls.
Source 1: FTC (www.ftc.gov)
Source 2: Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com)
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Major Functional Components
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System Capabilities
 Blocking of calls




Per call basis
Area code
Wild cards
Those contained in the global database
 System configuration
 Configuration software (PC)
 Hardware connected to phone line
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Incoming Call
Intercept
Pass To
Phone
Answer
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Should It Be Blocked ?
Intercept
Check Local
Settings
Search
DB
Block
Call
Pass To
Phone
Answer
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Flagging an Unwanted Call
Answer
Manually
Flag
Add To Local
DB
Send To
Global DB
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Inform Global Database
Flagged Number
Check for
Other Notices
Tolerance
Exceeded
Increment
Record
Add To DB
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Refresh Global Database
Refresh
DB
Check Last
Report
No
Longer In
Service
Remove From
DB
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Request Database Update
Request
Update
Compare
Versions
Prepare
Update
Send
Up-To-Date
Send
Update
Update Local
DB
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Required Hardware





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Modem
LCD
Wireless adapter
Memory
Database server
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Specialty Hardware
 Call interception device will be a custom
built unit
 It’s components are readily available OTS
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Required Software
 Configuration application
 Database management software
 Interception/screening software
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What’s In The Box
 Call interception device
 Configuration Software
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What’s Not In The Box




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Caller ID Subscription
Computer
Internet Connection
Wireless Network
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Competition Matrix
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Risks





Availability of wireless networks in homes
Security
Cost
Accidental blocks
Difficulty of use
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Risk Matrix
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Risk: Wireless Networks
The Risk:
 Only 12% of US households have a wireless
network
The Mitigation:
 Different options of implementation which do not
require a wireless network
Source: Pew Internet Project
(http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Wireless.Use.pdf)
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Risk: Security
The Risk:
 Hacking
 Spoofing
 Other sabotage of the online database or personal
database
The Mitigation:
 Standard security techniques
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Risk: Cost
The Risk:
 High cost
 Monthly fee
The Mitigation:
 Look for lower cost hardware
 Different options of implementation
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Risk: Accidental Blocks
The Risk:
 Customers blocking numbers they don’t want to
block
 Numbers being added to the online database who
aren’t telemarketers
The Mitigation:
 Fully customizable filters
 Set up a threshold for adding a number to the
online database
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Risk: Difficulty of Use
The Risk:
 The device is too difficult for people to set up or
use
The Mitigation:
 Make it easier
 Different options of implementation which allow
for easier use
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Experts Needed
 Embedded Systems Engineer
 Online Database Administrator
 Security Expert
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Coordinating Communication
 Email
 Instant Messenger
 Group Chat
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Preliminary Cost Estimates




Basic Caller ID boxes1:
Additional memory (~2GB)2:
Processor2:
Wireless components3:
 Total:
~$15
~$12
~$8
~$15
~$50
Source 1: Google Shopping
(http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&
resnum=0&q=Caller+ID+Box+Prices&um=1&ie=UTF-8)
Source 2: Engadget
(http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/19/isuppli-new-ipod-nanos-cost-apple-just-59-and-83-in-component/)
Source 3: iSuppli
(http://www.isuppli.com/news/default.asp?id=7308)
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Cost for the Customer:
~$60 initial cost
+
~$5 monthly fee
Based On: Cold Call Blocker (http://www.coldcallblocker.com/faq/)
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Alternative Approach
 No wireless network
 Uses the modem to dial in to the database
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Benefits of this approach
 Larger market
 Cheaper to build
 Easier to install
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Problems with this approach
 Ties up phone line for updates
 Slow data transfer
 Have to provide dial-up numbers
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Conclusion
 Phone users are still affected by unsolicited calls.
 No current solution solves this problem.
 Our solution is feasible.
Questions?
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