<s>
An	O
automatic	B-Protocol
dialer	I-Protocol
(	O
also	O
spelled	O
auto	B-Protocol
dialer	I-Protocol
,	O
auto-dialer	O
,	O
and	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
an	O
electronic	O
device	O
or	O
software	O
that	O
automatically	O
dials	O
telephone	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
call	O
has	O
been	O
answered	O
,	O
the	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
either	O
plays	O
a	O
recorded	O
message	O
or	O
connects	O
the	O
call	O
to	O
a	O
live	O
person	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
plays	O
a	O
pre-recorded	O
message	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
often	O
called	O
voice	O
broadcasting	O
,	O
or	O
robocalling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
connects	O
an	O
answered	O
call	O
to	O
a	O
live	O
agent	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
often	O
called	O
a	O
predictive	O
dialer	O
or	O
power	O
dialer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
important	O
technology	O
for	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
distinguish	O
live	O
human	O
pick-ups	O
from	O
answering	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
indication	O
hardware	O
signal	O
when	O
a	O
call	O
is	O
answered	O
by	O
an	O
answering	O
machine	O
or	O
voice-mail	O
system	O
,	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
systems	O
have	O
to	O
analyze	O
incoming	O
audio	O
for	O
a	O
prediction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Anybody	O
wishing	O
to	O
use	O
an	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
to	O
legally	O
contact	O
many	O
people	O
will	O
need	O
to	O
maintain	O
compliance	O
with	O
the	O
relevant	O
laws	O
in	O
their	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
maintain	O
records	O
,	O
demonstrate	O
drop	O
call	O
percentages	O
on	O
campaigns	O
and	O
avoid	O
calling	O
numbers	O
listed	O
in	O
any	O
federal	O
,	O
state	O
,	O
or	O
company	O
'	O
Do	O
Not	O
Call	O
 '	O
lists	O
is	O
essential	O
for	O
continued	O
legal	O
use	O
of	O
any	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
organizations	O
are	O
exempt	O
from	O
certain	O
compliance	O
laws	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
bulk	O
of	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
are	O
built	O
for	O
the	O
bulk	O
of	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
comply	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
many	O
cases	O
must	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
their	O
compliance	O
upon	O
demand	O
of	O
a	O
regulatory	O
entity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
try	O
to	O
control	O
what	O
is	O
a	O
growing	O
business	O
,	O
organizations	O
have	O
attempted	O
to	O
create	O
codes	O
of	O
practice	O
for	O
those	O
operating	O
in	O
their	O
industry	O
which	O
may	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
auto	B-Protocol
dialers	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
regular	O
PC	O
,	O
desktop	O
or	O
laptop	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
turned	O
into	O
an	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
by	O
using	O
a	O
telephony	O
board	O
or	O
modem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
software	O
programs	O
that	O
can	O
set	O
up	O
an	O
autodialer-like	O
function	O
over	O
a	O
physical	O
telephone	O
line	O
using	O
such	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
possible	O
to	O
run	O
cheap	O
or	O
free	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
without	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
or	O
telephone	O
line	O
using	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
VoIP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Traditional	O
advantages	O
of	O
using	O
telephony	O
cards	O
over	O
simple	O
modems	B-Application
include	O
detecting	O
touch	O
tones	O
and	O
transferring	O
calls	O
directly	O
through	O
to	O
the	O
caller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advancement	O
of	O
computer	O
software	O
technology	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
20th	O
century	O
,	O
many	O
hardware-based	O
telephony	O
capabilities	O
for	O
auto	B-Protocol
dialing	I-Protocol
can	O
be	O
implemented	O
in	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	O
modems	B-Application
are	O
much	O
less	O
expensive	O
and	O
some	O
computers	O
have	O
them	O
pre-installed	O
already	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Touch	O
tones	O
,	O
call	O
transfer	O
,	O
call	O
progress	O
detection	O
,	O
detection	O
of	O
answering	O
machine	O
and	O
voice	O
mail	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
telephony	O
card	O
features	O
,	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
voice	O
modem-based	O
auto	B-Protocol
dialing	I-Protocol
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
simple	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
supporting	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
phone	O
lines	O
per	O
PC	O
,	O
telephony	O
cards	O
offer	O
few	O
advantages	O
over	O
simple	O
voice	O
modems	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
ever-increasing	O
power	O
of	O
modern	O
computers	O
,	O
especially	O
those	O
with	O
multiple	O
cores	O
and	O
multiple	O
processors	O
,	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
that	O
utilize	O
VOIP	B-Application
can	O
be	O
scaled	O
up	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
today	O
's	O
call	O
centers	O
,	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
that	O
do	O
not	O
use	O
telephony	O
board	O
can	O
easily	O
make	O
hundreds	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
call	O
transfer	O
to	O
remote	O
agents	O
is	O
much	O
easier	O
with	O
VOIP	B-Application
technology	O
since	O
no	O
physical	O
telephone	O
wires	O
are	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Smart	B-Protocol
Autodialer	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
autodialer	B-Protocol
capable	O
of	O
personalizing	O
messages	O
and	O
collecting	O
touch-tone	O
or	O
speech	O
feedbacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
customize	O
or	O
personalize	O
messages	O
,	O
a	O
smart	B-Protocol
autodialer	I-Protocol
system	O
uses	O
a	O
message	O
template	O
,	O
which	O
contains	O
variables	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
replaced	O
later	O
by	O
actual	O
values	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
all	O
enterprise-grade	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
employ	O
computer	O
networking	O
technology	O
since	O
voice	O
boards	O
have	O
a	O
fixed	O
number	O
of	O
ports	O
and	O
cannot	O
be	O
scaled	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Telephone	O
Consumer	O
Protection	O
Act	O
of	O
1991	O
was	O
signed	O
into	O
law	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
put	O
restrictions	O
on	O
auto	B-Protocol
dialing	I-Protocol
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
early	O
autodialers	B-Protocol
used	O
perforated	O
cards	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
,	O
but	O
smaller	O
than	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
)	O
to	O
encode	O
the	O
telephone	O
numbers	O
to	O
be	O
dialed	O
.	O
</s>
