Flash Networks and RuleSpace Survey Shows Parents Want Safe Mobile Browsing for Children

HERZLIA, Israel and BEAVERTON, Ore., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Flash Networks, a global provider of intelligent mobile Internet solutions, and RuleSpace, a leading provider of OEM Web categorization services, announced today that, according to a survey they recently conducted together, a significant majority of parents of teenage and pre-teen children do not feel comfortable knowing their children have unsupervised access to the Internet, and believe that mobile carriers should offer parents and children protection from accessing inappropriate content. Conducted in December 2009, the survey polled over 250 parents of children aged eight to seventeen, spanning eight countries and representing subscribers from 18 different mobile carriers.

Survey results reveal that 73% of parents do not feel comfortable knowing their children have unsupervised access to the Internet, and 86% of parents expect their mobile carriers to provide them with a parental control solution. In addition, 45% of parents are willing to pay their mobile operator for a parental control solution and, of those, 40% would be willing to pay more than $3 per month.

Respondents also indicated that they would like to have more control over how their children access the mobile Internet. Fifty-two percent of parents would be interested in limiting their children's access to the Internet during certain hours of the day, and 59% of parents of children aged eight to twelve would be interested in having the ability to define a limited number of websites that their child can access. The survey results also show that 72% of all parents would be interested in receiving a report with a list of websites their child has accessed.

Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), said, "What this research shows is that with the dramatic and rapid shift of Internet access to mobile phones, parents are increasingly concerned about online safety on these devices. There's no doubt that parents need the tools to help them overcome concerns about their children gaining unsupervised Internet access. Once again, Flash Networks, together with RuleSpace, has given us a timely reminder of the challenges operators and parents face, and the possible solution that meets the needs of both."

"As more and more youth are using mobile devices with mobile browsing capabilities, parents need to have a high level of confidence that their children are protected from harmful content," commented Merav Bahat, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Flash Networks. "Providing solutions that limit access and enable parents to have an open dialogue with their children about mobile browsing safety enables operators to take a more active role, promoting social responsibility while providing services that support their subscribers' family values."

"The results of this survey provide further validation that parents expect mobile Internet service providers to offer flexible and effective content control solutions for children with mobile devices and Internet access," said Gary Thomassen, Vice President of Products at  RuleSpace. "More and more children are getting phones at younger ages and this data clearly indicates that parents will increasingly choose their mobile service provider based on the services offered for child protection."

In June 2009, Flash Networks announced the availability of Content Control 2.0, a policy-based solution based on RuleSpace's web categorization data and technology, which enables parents to pick and choose which content they consider to be inappropriate or dangerous, and define how filtering should be applied for each family member. With the web-based  application, parents have the ability to control web content access based on the type of content and/or time of day (e.g. to prevent access after bedtime or during school hours). Parents can also choose to monitor Internet behavior by receiving notification if access is attempted to dangerous content categories such as suicide, drugs, or anorexia. These user customization features transform content control from a basic black list service to a revenue-generating solution and a key differentiator for mobile operators.

Flash Network's Content Control solution is part of the Harmony Mobile Internet Services Gateway which enables operators to enhance user quality of experience, reduce operational expenses, and manage and monetize access to the open Internet by applying best-in-class services to mobile data traffic.

About Flash Networks

Flash Networks is a global provider of intelligent mobile Internet solutions that enable operators to improve quality of experience, reduce network operational expenses, and manage and monetize the mobile Internet. Providing a faster, safer, richer, and more personalized user experience, Flash Networks' Harmony Internet services gateway helps operators achieve significant cost savings through intelligent data traffic optimization, and applies intelligent policies for targeted marketing and charging. With offices in Europe, Asia, and North America, Flash Networks' installed base of top-tier mobile carriers includes O2, Orange, SingTel Group, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Telenor, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, and Wind. For more information, visit www.flashnetworks.com.

About RuleSpace

For over 14 years RuleSpace has been a leading provider of OEM Web categorization services. RuleSpace offers the most comprehensive URL category databases and accurate real-time web categorization technologies available on the market. Their solutions are designed to power Internet security products and services, parental control products, safe search functionality, contextual advertising services and brand protection products. RuleSpace technology is currently deployed at leading ISPs, mobile network operators, and Internet security companies serving over 250 million users worldwide. RuleSpace is a privately-held company headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon with offices in the United Kingdom. Learn more at www.rulespace.com.

    
    
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SOURCE Flash Networks