Do-not-call Web site gets plenty of hits

The Web site for the first nationwide do-not-call program to block telemarketers got flooded with virtual calls in its first day.

The http://www.donotcall.gov site, which went live at midnight June 27, registered 635,000 phone numbers as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, said David Torok, the Federal Trade Commission's program manager for the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry is a project of FTC and the Federal Communications Commission.

Acknowledging reports that consumers were having trouble reaching the new site, Torok said the site contractor, AT&T Government Solutions of Vienna, Va., was adding servers and tweaking performance. The site was accepting as many as 60,000 registrations per hour, he said.

Under the rules for the new registry, consumers have until Aug. 31 to sign up for the anti-telemarketing list that will go into effect Oct. 1. Consumers don't have to rush, he said, because everyone who signs up between now and Aug. 31 will be treated the same.

Nevertheless, FTC officials are "extraordinarily gratified by the huge demand we've seen," Torok said. The trade commission's home page cautions that users may experience slow response time at the Web site.