With the nation seeking ways to crack down on sex crimes, wireless operators could reap the benefits by offering location-based services. These services are being touted as possibly one of the best preventive measures against sex offenders repeating their crime after release from prison.
The article then segues into a look at the numbers:
The country's largest wireless operator SK Telecom Co. has seen the subscription of its safety-related services rise from 2.45 million last December to 2.61 million last February, SK Telecom said.
It means that 152,000 new customers have joined the service during the last two months.
Subscribers of the second-largest operator KTF Co.'s "mobile police" service also increased 23 percent during the same period, from 85,000 to 105,000, the company said.
The smallest carrier LG Telecom Ltd. also added 30,000 new subscribers to its "friend-search" service during the same period.
Thanks to the widespread use of location-based technologies, like the global positioning system, mobile-phone users are able to get accurate information on the whereabouts of loved ones.
I'm assuming that whereabouts of loved ones does NOT equal preventive measures against sex offenders
the mind boggles ...The article then outlines iKids and similar services
There are even ways to use these services for free.
SK Telecom's "emergency call" service, for instance, enables a user to simultaneously call four persons, who are listed as their "protectors in emergency," by simply pressing a hot-key on his mobile handset.
Automatically, information on his whereabouts and an electronic map appear in the window of the four receiving handsets.
To use the service, the subscriber needs a handset equipped with GPS functions.
Also, the carrier's "i-Kids" service enables parents to keep track of their children using their cell phones, the internet and GPS satellite technology.
Before finishing on a note that seems to imply to me a privately funded police force?
By aligning with personal security firm CAPS, SK Telecom and KTF offer the so-called mobile police services, which enable a customer to call security guards by pressing a hot-key. KTF charges a monthly fixed fee of 3,500 won for the service.
Hint: Always watch Korea and what they are doing in LBS.
Technorati Tags Location Based Services, LBS, Korea, Korea Herald, iKids, Hwang Si-young
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