BizJournals Portfolio
Home >   Business Views, Opinions and Blogs >   Business Blogs >   Tech Observer >  

Why Did Parental Control Of Cell Phones Take So Long

Tech Observer

by Kevin Maney
Main
Daily Brew: Man saves shark, Flash mob parties, web developer's box of tricks...   Rupert, Sony, and other Wikipedia Editing Tricks

Recent Blog Posts

Links

Sep 04 2007 12:00am EDT

Why Did Parental Control of Cell Phones Take So Long?

Talk about a long overdue development in the cell phone industry: AT&T today launches a service that lets parents set limits and boundaries on their kids' cell phones. Parents now can have control over when a phone can get calls, how many text messages can be sent, and what can be downloaded.

This kind of parental control has been needed for at least the past five years, as more families buy cell phones for their teenage kids. To any parent with a cell phoned teenager, it's also pretty apparent why the carriers have dragged their feet to do this: It will cut down on the carriers' revenue. Teens tend to make a habit of vastly exceeding their text messaging plans and downloading multiple music videos and ring tones, resulting in whopping extra charges on the monthly bill. So AT&T is no doubt doing this because it thinks customers want parental controls badly enough that they will switch carriers to get it. Otherwise, it's a money-losing proposition.

. □

blog comments powered by Disqus
 
Feedbackpowered byPowered by WebUltra
U.S. Uncovered
Rich City, Poor City

Which cities were still making money during the recession and which went under? Our analysis.

Don't Mess With Texas Small Biz

Best U.S. metro areas that are most conducive to the creation and development of small businesses.

A Sporting Chance

A look at the places best primed economically to host a major-league sports franchise.

spotlight on

Multimedia

Wealth Central

The Great Recession certainly took its toll on cities across the United States. But even with high unemployment rates and declining wages, some communities have done very well for themselves. View Interactive Feature