Do-not-call Register for Pre-recorded Telephone Messages Commences to Accept Registration from Prefix-2 and Prefix-3 Numbers on 25 January 2008

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) announced today (24 January 2008) that the do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages would commence to accept registrations from prefix-2 and prefix-3 numbers on 25 January 2008.

This is the third and also the last do-not-call register to be launched since the full commencement of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (UEMO) on 22 December 2007. The two do-not-call registers for fax and for short messages were launched on 22 December 2007 and 8 January 2008 respectively.

"The public can register their prefix-2 and prefix-3 numbers onto the do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages by calling the registration hotline 1835000 using the phone of the number they intend to register," a spokesperson of OFTA said.

"There is no deadline for registration. The public can register their prefix-2 and prefix-3 numbers onto the do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages on any day at any time (except 23:00-24:00 each day when the database undergoes updating) on or after 25 January 2008," the spokesperson elaborated.

"The do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages will commence to accept registrations from prefix-6 and prefix-9 numbers starting from 12 February 2008 and 4 March 2008 respectively. The phased commencement of registration is to ensure that the register would operate smoothly during the initial stage of launching," the spokesperson explained.

For numbers registered onto the do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages on or before 25 March 2008, the protection under the UEMO will commence on 7 April 2008, irrespective of the prefix of the registered number. For numbers registered on or after 26 March 2008, the protection will start on the tenth working day after the registration date. The public may check the registration date of their numbers at http://www.dnc.gov.hk. From 26 March 2008 onwards, the registration date of numbers listed on the do-not-call register for pre-recorded telephone messages can also be checked by calling the registration hotline 1835000.

"The other two registers have been operating smoothly since they were launched. Up to 23 January 2008, 31,299 numbers have been registered onto the do-not-call register for fax and 45,987 numbers onto the register for short messages. There is no deadline for registration and the public can continue to register their numbers onto the two registers by calling the registration hotline 1835002 for fax and 1835001 for short messages," the spokesperson continued.

For more information about the three do-not-call registers and the UEMO, please visit OFTA's website at http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/uem/main.html. The public may also call the public enquiry hotline for the do-not-call registers at 2180 6868 (operating from 8:00am to 10:00pm daily). Senders of commercial electronic messages who wish to know more about the application for subscription account of downloading the do-not-call registers may call another hotline at 2806 6778 (operating from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on Monday to Friday except public holidays).

Office of the Telecommunications Authority
24 January 2008