services. 

54

   This exception is startling in its reach.   According to the NPRM, this proposed 

amendment would expand the TSR's coverage to embrace all outbound business to business 

telemarketing involving  any and all services related to the World Wide Web. 

55

In support of this proposal, the Commission asserts that the  sale of Internet and Web 

services

56

 to small businesses has emerged as one of the leading sources of complaints about 

fraud by small businesses. 

57

  This assertion hardly is surprising, however, given the explosive 

growth of the Internet economy.  The Department of Commerce reported in February that U.S. 

retail e commerce sales increased 19.3 percent between 2000 and 2001,

58

 despite the fact that 

total retail sales increased by only 3.3 percent during the same period of time.

59

  According to the 

University of Texas, electronic commerce transactions, including both retail and business to 

business sales, generated a total of $830 billion in 2000.

60

As of 1993, few among even the largest companies in the United States had established a 

presence on the World Wide Web.  By 1998, however, at least 35 percent of all small businesses 

had established a Web site and one third of those sites supported e commerce transactions.

61

Since that time, Web sites for small businesses have continued to proliferate.   The Small 

54

 The current version of the Rule already includes an exception to the business to business exemption for calls 

involving sales of non durable office or cleaning supplies. 

55

NPRM, 

67 Fed. Reg 4492

, 

4500. 

56

  Internet services  are defined as  the provision, by an Internet Service Provider, or another, of access to the 

Internet,  and  Web services  are defined as  designing, building, creating, publishing, maintaining, providing or 

hosting a website on the Internet.   Proposed Rule,    310.2(o) and (bb). 

57

NPRM

 at 4531. 

58

See

 Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dep't of Commerce, 

Retail E Commerce Sales in Fourth Quarter 

2001

 (Feb. 20, 2002), at http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/current.html.  

59

See id

. 

60

See

 University of Texas Center for Research in Electronic Commerce

, The Internet Economy Indicators

, 

at

http://www.internetindicators.com/execsummry.html. 

61

See

 U.S. Small Business Admin., Small Business Expansions in Electronic Commerce 8 (2000), 

at

http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/e_comm2.pdf. 

21