CLARKSTON, Mich. (April 26, 2005) - Global directory assistance/enquiry (DA/DQ) revenues will reach $26.2 billion in 2010-a 60 percent increase over 2005 revenues-according to The Pierz Group's 2005 DA/DQ Global Market Forecast. The U.S. share of this market will reach $11.4 billion in 2010, an increase of 42 percent over 2005 revenues.

According to The Pierz Group forecast, Americans looked for phone numbers over 43 billion times in 2004. Six and a half billion of those phone number look-ups in the U.S. were calls to directory assistance. In the United States, consumers call directory assistance an average of 35 times per year from a home, business or mobile phone, second only to the residents of Reykjavik, Iceland who call directory assistance an average of 36 times per year. When adding other sources of telephone number look-ups (such as print directories, Internet Yellow Pages and search engines like Google and Yahoo!), no other country looks up more phone numbers than the United States.

"We live in a communications intense culture," said Kathleen Pierz, managing partner, The Pierz Group, LLC, an industry analyst firm specializing in the global DA/DQ market. "The ability to quickly and easily obtain a phone number is very important to anyone, but apparently even more so to Americans."

Finding the right phone number connects buyers and sellers, friends and families, and routinely solves problems for consumers. Today there is a growing number of enhanced services available through directory assistance in the United States. Wireless carriers routinely provide directions, movie start times and locations, search by Yellow Pages category or by location, and weather reports for any city in the country. Some wireless providers will even make or change airline reservations for callers dialing 411.

The Pierz Group's 2005 DA/DQ Global Market Forecast provides an in-depth view of the key factors driving the DA/DQ market worldwide. It was created with input from carriers worldwide, making it the most complete and accurate forecast available for the DA/DQ market. The forecast features:

 141 pages offering detailed views of each region and the market factors behind the forecast through 2010  Detail of the base of telephone subscribers by type, DA/DQ call volumes by type of call, as well as DA/DQ revenue figures through 2010  Insight into key changes historically as well as those that are forecast to impact each market over the next five years  Regional comparisons, highlighting the differences and similarities between geographic areas  113 charts and tables

For more information regarding The Pierz Group's 2005 DA/DQ Global Market Forecast, visit www.pierzgroup.com or call 248-922-1501.