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Cell Services Help Keep Eye On Junior(Tampa Tribune (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 28--TAMPA -- Parents who wonder where their children go all day and night have a new way to find out -- by tracking the child's cell phone. Some of the largest U.S. cellular service companies are launching services this summer that turn a cell phone into a type of locator beacon that parents can track online, for a fee. The most advanced systems promise to pinpoint a child's location to within 50 yards and even send alerts if children wander outside pre set neighborhoods or don't show up somewhere on time. With prices of about $10 to $20 extra a month, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless are launching locating services with names such as Family Locator and Chaperone. Disney Mobile, a new cellular service backed by a division of the entertainment company, is launching a cell phone service with child -tracking as a central selling point. "This could be good for parents' peace of mind," said Ken Hyers, an analyst with Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based ABI Research. At the same time, Hyers warns parents that these services have flaws. Parents may need to buy new phones, and the technology works best in open locations outdoors where telephones can receive signals from global-positioning-system satellites. Location accuracy with this type of technology can degrade, Hyers said, if the phone is buried in a backpack, in a car, in a dense building or even an urban canyon between tall buildings. "God forbid if the kid is stuffed in a trunk," Hyers said. If GPS links fail, backup systems may locate a phone to a specific suburb or city by identifying nearby cell phone towers. Despite drawbacks, Hyers said, the idea has appeal to him. "I've got a young daughter, and when she starts dating, then I'll have to spring for this service." Cellular companies have good business reasons to launch child-locating services. They have spent millions of dollars to comply with government regulations requiring technology upgrades to allow police or emergency workers to locate cell phone callers dialing 911. With that ability largely built now, cellular companies want to recoup those costs and turn the location technology into revenue-generating services. Reston, Va.-based Sprint Nextel launched a child -locating service in April called Sprint Family Locator that allows parents to log on to a private Web site and see where children are, plus set landmarks where a child should be each day, such as school by 8:30 a.m. Parents also can access real-time maps on their own Sprint phone. The service doesn't hide from the child or let the parents secretly track them. Each location request sends a message to the phone, telling the child their phone has been located. Bedminster, N.J.-based Verizon Wireless' Chaperone service launched two weeks ago and goes a step further, allowing parents to set designated neighborhoods where a child should be, and receive text messages if children enter or leave . Disney Mobile, which is branded by Burbank, Calif.-based Disney and operated by Sprint Nextel, officially launched service this month, offering parent-controlled calling plans, child locating with GPS signals and Family Alert text messages that go to everyone in the family. Wherify Wireless Inc., based in Redwood Shores, Calif., will launch a child-locating service based on GPS signals this autumn. This represents a second approach at the market, since the company in 2002 introduced a GPS beacon that children were supposed to wear as a watch. Another powerful motivation cellular companies have to launch these location services is to avoid the profit-sapping business of retaining customers willing to switch carriers at a moment's notice. The penetration rate of cell phones in U.S. households tops 70 percent, according to Forrester Research. Although that penetration continues to grow, nearly a third of U.S. customers have switched carriers in the past two years, a "churn" rate that constantly eats into the profitability of cellular companies. Worse for cellular providers, some of the biggest-spending cellular customers are also the most likely to switch carriers, Forrester found during a recent survey. Parents might be less likely to switch, Hyers said, if they have both taken the time to set up defined boundaries for their children 's cellular use and had a good experience locating them. PHONES PHONE HOME New cell phone services can locate children in real-time. --Pros: At their best, services can locate children to within 50 yards, with locations displayed on private Web sites. An alert can be sent to parents if children leave certain areas or don't show up somewhere on time. --Cons: Services from each company primarily rely on satellite, or GPS location technology, which can lose accuracy indoors, in cars or other areas with no line of sight skyward. Backup systems can help, but only are accurate within a mile. COMPARING SERVICES Here's a look at what the various services offer: --Sprint Nextel: Service works on 30 Sprint phones equipped with GPS chips. Cost is $9.99 a month for four phones and 100 location requests, then 10 cents a location request, plus calling plan costs. --Verizon: Requires a "Migo" phone for children that costs $100 for one year, or $49 for two years, then $9.99 a month for child location, or $19.99 a month for location tracking and tracking children within defined zones. Calling plans are priced separately. --Disney Mobile: Child's phone costs $59.99, plus $35 activation fee for a 2-year contract. Calling plans range from $39.99 a month for 400 daytime minutes to $169.99 for 3,500 daytime minutes. --Wherify: Service launches this autumn. Pricing plans are not fully set, but could cost $99.95 for a child's phone and $19.95 for a "bucket" of minutes and requests for location information. |