Network and Internet control solutions company, LucidView has introduced a SIM card that gives parents full control over what content their kids may consume on their mobile phones.
The SIM card, named LucidView 'Chit Chat' and currently only available through MTN, comes at a fixed R199 monthly rate, which includes R50 airtime and Internet connectivity that will never encroach the child's talk time, says Camilla Logie, account manager at LucidView.
To access the service, says Logie, parents need to log into the company's Web site and locate the LucidView 'Chit Chat' on the Cellphone SIM icon, which provides an overview on how the product works and explains the registration process.
"Once registration is done, parents then receive a link on their personal e-mail that's uniquely designed per individual user; in the link is a username and password, which will then take the parent to the LucidView portals, where they can select which categories are not suitable for their children's consumption," adds Logie.
Categories include: adult content, security risks, and downloads of large content files.
According to Logie, the product is designed for children of school-going age. The data is managed through prioritisation, with priority and permanent Internet connectivity allocated to critical, in-touch applications and services that enable parents to communicate with their children.
"These include instant messaging applications such as Whatsapp, BBM, Viber chat, Chat On (Samsung) and others so that parents are able to reach their children regardless of whether their airtime is used up," she explains.
She further notes that the fixed price translates into no runaway bills; no need for parents to purchase extra bandwidth; and also puts the power entirely in the parents' hands.
For children, Logie adds, it means never running out of in-contact data to reach their parents, should there be any emergencies.
There are currently other uncapped products on the market, according to Logie, but none with parental control options.
In a statement released following the SIM card's introduction into the market, LucidView said it believes that smartphones have presented a new level of concern for parents, as the traditional methods of protecting kids no longer apply.
The LucidView 'Chit Chat' will be made available through LucidView's Web site. It will also be made available via eBlockwatch - a community-driven initiative that fights crime with the use of different online and mobile platforms such as social media and SMSes - as well as RapeWise, an organisation that focuses on rape education and training.
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