As telecom technology advances, enabling users to access information and communicate more quickly across multiple platforms, the age that children begin using their own mobile phones seems to be lowering.
The many dangers the internet poses to children on a PC have always been highlighted with an emphasis on parental control software as a solution, but the same threats in the telecom world are not often addressed.
One Irish based company, Tango Telecom, has attempted to tackle the issue with features that give control back to parents, allowing them to monitor their children’s mobile activity and restrict their access to potentially harmful material.
Rory O’Toole, vice president of global sales at Tango Telecom said “Adults are willing to pay a huge premium on their bill for this kind of service”.
Features include control over the amount of money a child can spend and ‘blackout periods’ during which the phone cannot be used until, for example, homework has been done.
Parents can also monitor text messages, keyword searches and websites with inappropriate content and manage who their child can receive calls from or contact from the phone.
“The service allows parents to police children from their homes, with real time reports so they have piece of mind about what their children are looking at and who they are talking to”, said Rory.
While telecom packages like this one are not likely to be popular with rebellious teens, parental security is necessary to keep children safe and the service ends once a child turns 18, after which they never need talk to their parents again.
This is just one of many service offered by Tango Telecom who recently opened a regional office in Kenya to meet demand in Africa.
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