Verizon Wireless requires a data plan on most phones now - no parental control available

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: William Arbaugh <waa () cs umd edu>
> Date: January 20, 2010 4:52:43 PM EST
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: For IP - Verizon Wireless requires a data plan on most  
> phones now - no parental control available

> We promised my daughter a new cell phone for her birthday. She  
> picked the Envy 2. When we purchased the same phone for her older  
> brother, it came with a $10/mo data plan. But, we were able to  
> cancel it immediately. Turns out, as of Nov 19th 2009, the vast  
> majority of Verizon phones MUST have a minimum of a $10/mo data  
> plan. You cannot cancel.
>
> The basic plan provides only 25MB. Additional MB's are $1.99. I  
> asked the salesman (and later the 800 number) how I could control  
> her data usage so as not to exceed the 25MB/mo and incur large  
> charges unexpectedly. I was told my only option was to buy her an  
> unlimited plan for $30/mo. None of the data plans allow any parental  
> control on how my daughter utilizes the Internet. Turns out the only  
> control option available costs $5/mo. This option will only allow me  
> to set  the time of day that she can use the phone. In other words,  
> I can turn off texting, calls (except emergency and a trusted list),  
> and data. But, I can't control individual services nor do I have any  
> parental control over the use of the Internet.
>
> Given that Verizon has now made data plans mandatory for the  
> majority of their phones, more and more children are going to have  
> unfettered Internet access in their hands (unsupervised). While I  
> trust my children, I still worry they will unknowingly run up the  
> data costs or find the more colorful corners of the Internet. Is  
> there anything that we can do to protect our children in this  
> situation besides the obvious of saying no to a phone?



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