boutons_deux
03-31-2014, 10:03 AM
A survey finds almost all consumers want the ability to remotely kill a stolen cellphone
Technology that remotely makes a stolen smartphone useless could save American consumers up to US$2.6 billion per year if it is implemented widely and leads to a reduction in theft of phones, according to a new report.
Law enforcement officials and politicians are pressuring cellular carriers to make such technology standard on all phones shipped in the U.S. in response to the increasing number of smartphone thefts. They believe the so-called "kill switch" would reduce the number of thefts if stolen phones were routinely locked so they became useless.
But carriers have resisted these requests and there are now bills proposed at the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and California State Senate that would mandate such a system.
The report, by William Duckworth, an associate professor of statistics, data science and analytics at Creighton University, found most of the savings for consumers would come from reduced insurance premiums.
Duckworth estimated that Americans currently spend around $580 million replacing stolen phones each year and $4.8 billion paying for handset insurance.
If a kill-switch led to a sharp reduction in theft of phones -- something supporters argue would happen because stolen phones would lose their resale value if useless -- most of the $580 million spent on replacing stolen phones would be saved.
A further $2 billion in savings could be realized by switching to cheaper insurance plans that don't cover theft. Not all consumers would make the switch, but Duckworth said his research suggests at least half would.
http://www.itworld.com/security/412204/smartphone-kill-switch-could-save-consumers-26b-year-says-report?source=ITWNLE_nlt_today_2014-03-31
any chance Congress will help consumers and screw the insurance/telco's out of $Bs?
just another way mega corps, esp the cartels, screw consumers, and the ONLY defender of consumers is govt that all y'all right wingers love to hate
Technology that remotely makes a stolen smartphone useless could save American consumers up to US$2.6 billion per year if it is implemented widely and leads to a reduction in theft of phones, according to a new report.
Law enforcement officials and politicians are pressuring cellular carriers to make such technology standard on all phones shipped in the U.S. in response to the increasing number of smartphone thefts. They believe the so-called "kill switch" would reduce the number of thefts if stolen phones were routinely locked so they became useless.
But carriers have resisted these requests and there are now bills proposed at the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and California State Senate that would mandate such a system.
The report, by William Duckworth, an associate professor of statistics, data science and analytics at Creighton University, found most of the savings for consumers would come from reduced insurance premiums.
Duckworth estimated that Americans currently spend around $580 million replacing stolen phones each year and $4.8 billion paying for handset insurance.
If a kill-switch led to a sharp reduction in theft of phones -- something supporters argue would happen because stolen phones would lose their resale value if useless -- most of the $580 million spent on replacing stolen phones would be saved.
A further $2 billion in savings could be realized by switching to cheaper insurance plans that don't cover theft. Not all consumers would make the switch, but Duckworth said his research suggests at least half would.
http://www.itworld.com/security/412204/smartphone-kill-switch-could-save-consumers-26b-year-says-report?source=ITWNLE_nlt_today_2014-03-31
any chance Congress will help consumers and screw the insurance/telco's out of $Bs?
just another way mega corps, esp the cartels, screw consumers, and the ONLY defender of consumers is govt that all y'all right wingers love to hate