There has been no clear or consistent guidance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the courts as to whether or not a cell phone is considered a predictive dialer. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance on this issue depends entirely on specific district court rulings for specific jurisdictions.

A predictive dialer system operates from a list of phone numbers, automatically dials multiple numbers simultaneously and directs the calls to live agents based on predictions about when the agent will likely be available to handle the call. If the consumer answers, the system directs them to an agent. If the agent is unavailable, it often drops the call.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) has a safe harbor provision specifically designed for predictive dialers that allows for a 3% call abandonment rate.