By the end of January everyone in Italy who has a contract with any of the Italian telephone companies for a fixed-line or mobile telephone will have received a questionnaire for completion. This is for the preparation of new telephone directories in which telephone subscribers will be able to choose the information that they want published.

Telephone owners will be asked whether they wish to appear in the new diredtory and if so, how they want to be listed either with their last name and first name, or with their last name and the initial of their first name. In addition, there will be the opportunity to include an address, e-mail address and profession. Users will also be asked if they wish to be traceable by anyone who only has their telephone number.

The questionnaires must be returned by April in preparation for publication of the new directory in October.

The new directories will be the first to contain mobile as well as fixed line phone numbers. There are 20 million contracts for fixed telephone lines in Italy and more than 60 million mobile phone contracts having been registered in the country by August of 2004.