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The “Do Not Call” list has been around in the United States for some time, and many report that it has sharply reduced the number of telemarketing calls received in the course of a typical day. But the idea of a list of people managed by the government that don't want to receive calls from telemarketers backed up by the force of law isn't old hat everywhere, and in Australia, there are large numbers of people taking advantage of this service in recent days.

The reports from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) notes that fully nine million telephone numbers can be found on the Do Not Call Register, Australia's standard for who can and can't be directly solicited via telephone. That's actually up over one million from just this same time last year, and serves as, as ACMA chairman Chris Chapman notes, “...an overwhelming endorsement of its effectiveness in significantly reducing telemarketing calls.”

Perhaps more interesting, however, is the breakdown of the list overall. The list thus far is said to include around five million land line numbers, and the rest—around 3.85 million—are mobile numbers. It's nearly an even split, and fully 11.19 million smartphone users are currently in play in Australia, a number that has risen fully 29 percent since May 2012.

What's more, there's an increase in users going online as well, particularly with those mobile devices, and that too increases the susceptibility of being hit by telemarketers. In June 2013, according to the report, 7.5 million Australians used the Internet on a mobile phone. That number was actually up 33 percent over June 2012, and 510 percent since just June 2008. Use is up in general as well, with 43 percent of respondents engaging in five or more activities online in the course of a day, which was up from 39 percent a year prior and from 12 percent five years prior.

With a greater digital economy in place, there are more people with mobile devices and the like. That makes said users more susceptible to calls on mobile devices, and more in need of a do not call registry like this one to fend off the increased numbers of telemarketers focusing on mobile devices in a bid to make contact with an actual person. Telemarketers really only have a chance at making money when said telemarketers can speak to a real person. No one can sell an answering machine a magazine subscription; no voice mail account can sign a contract. Telemarketers must hit people where said people are most available, because failure to do so renders the entire job meaningless. This in turn has left telemarketers trying new approaches, and in an increasingly digital economy, that means more hits online, and more hits on mobile devices.

Telemarketers are basically just going where the money is, or rather in this case, where the people are. This in turn is likely leaving Australians who'd rather not deal with telemarketers—and this is likely a pretty large batch of people—looking to other means like a Do Not Call registry to keep phones quiet. Increasing numbers of sign-ups suggest that it's working, and working well, but only time will tell if it continues to do so, or an increasingly digital economy simply spawns better telemarketers.