Online tools used to manage your wireless accounts can be hit or miss depending on which carrier you go with, but AT&T is aiming to up their offering. Today the carrier unveiled their new Smart Controls website, which allows users to more easily manage their wireless, TV, Internet, and home phone services. Since this website isn't TVDog, InternetCat, or Home Phone Hyena, let's focus on the portion of the site about cell phones. Using the Smart Controls site, AT&T customers can manage content (block unwanted calls or texts), control spending on texting and mobile purchases, locate friends and family members, sign up for Roadside Assistance, and use many other safety and family-focused tools. Many features are free of charge for AT&T customers, although some, like the Roadside Assistance, cost anywhere between $2.99 and $4.99 per phone, per month. Check out the full press release below.
While several of the tools found on AT&T's Smart Controls site can be found on other carriers as well, not all of them are offered on an easy to find site like Ma Bell's. Sure, it'd be nice to see most, if not all, of these tools available for free, but it's understandable that AT&T would charge for stuff like phone insurance and Roadside Assistance. On the other hand, something like FamilyMap seems like it could be free beyond the initial 30 days of use. If you're an AT&T customer and find that any of the above features have piqued your interest, you can check out AT&T's Smart Control site right here.
AT&T Introduces New AT&T Smart Controls(SM) Website
Online Hub Arms Consumers with Safety Information and Helpful Tools to Better Manage Wireless, Internet and TV Experience
Dallas, Texas, November 09, 2010
AT&T* today announced the launch of AT&T Smart Controls, an all-in-one online destination dedicated to giving AT&T customers more control over their wireless, TV, Internet, and home phone experience. The new website – inspired by and for customers – provides one-click access to safety and control tools, articles, expert resources, and more, all designed to help customers and parents better manage the technology they use every day. This is another example of AT&T bringing innovation and people together to better their lives.
Key Features:
Organized to address popular topics that can help keep customers in the driver’s seat of their technology experience, AT&T Smart Controls features several categories and subjects, including:
Manage Content: Take more control over the technology you use every day, such as preventing unwanted calls and texts on your wireless phone, setting up online content filters or blocking certain channels on your TV.
Control Spending: Explore ways to control spending.
Learn Safety Tips: Learn more about tools and solutions available to help protect your family, your information and your devices, plus get expert advice on how to avoid common scams.
Limit Time: Set parameters for how often your children can go online, make and receive phone calls, the types of programming they can watch, and more.
Manage Location: Learn how to hide your phone’s location to protect your privacy.
“We really believe in the importance and value of AT&T Smart Controls,” said Mark Collins, senior vice president, Voice and Data Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “As a technology leader, we have a responsibility to educate and arm consumers with the very latest safety information. Smart Controls is an all-inclusive destination that provides convenient, easily accessible solutions to help consumers manage their technology needs simply, safely and effectively.”
AT&T Smart Controls also allows viewers to easily locate content management tools for particular AT&T services, such as the AT&T Data Calculator, AT&T * Services to help manage data and voice usage, AT&T Smart Limits for WirelessSM, AT&T Internet Parental Controls, AT&T U-verse® TV Parental Controls and more. AT&T Smart Controls also features discussion forums where visitors can chat about topics and share information with others; timely articles and educational resources on subjects such as identity theft, social networking safety and Wi-Fi security tips; as well as links to third-party experts, including government agencies, credit reporting bureaus, and more.
“AT&T Smart Controls equips today’s consumers with some of the most important and timely digital safety information available,” said Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). Organized by AT&T, FOSI participated in a focus group of online experts on the new website before it was rolled out. “Providing consumers with the tools and education to stay safe online is essential in today’s digital world; carriers like AT&T help further our efforts to make communications safer by creating sites like AT&T Smart Controls that help consumers make informed decisions about taking safety measures.”
Visit AT&T Smart Controls to learn more.
AT&T* today announced the launch of AT&T Smart Controls, an all-in-one online destination dedicated to giving AT&T customers more control over their wireless, TV, Internet, and home phone experience. The new website – inspired by and for customers – provides one-click access to safety and control tools, articles, expert resources, and more, all designed to help customers and parents better manage the technology they use every day. This is another example of AT&T bringing innovation and people together to better their lives.
Key Features:
Organized to address popular topics that can help keep customers in the driver’s seat of their technology experience, AT&T Smart Controls features several categories and subjects, including:
Manage Content: Take more control over the technology you use every day, such as preventing unwanted calls and texts on your wireless phone, setting up online content filters or blocking certain channels on your TV.
Control Spending: Explore ways to control spending.
Learn Safety Tips: Learn more about tools and solutions available to help protect your family, your information and your devices, plus get expert advice on how to avoid common scams.
Limit Time: Set parameters for how often your children can go online, make and receive phone calls, the types of programming they can watch, and more.
Manage Location: Learn how to hide your phone’s location to protect your privacy.
“We really believe in the importance and value of AT&T Smart Controls,” said Mark Collins, senior vice president, Voice and Data Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “As a technology leader, we have a responsibility to educate and arm consumers with the very latest safety information. Smart Controls is an all-inclusive destination that provides convenient, easily accessible solutions to help consumers manage their technology needs simply, safely and effectively.”
AT&T Smart Controls also allows viewers to easily locate content management tools for particular AT&T services, such as the AT&T Data Calculator, AT&T * Services to help manage data and voice usage, AT&T Smart Limits for WirelessSM, AT&T Internet Parental Controls, AT&T U-verse® TV Parental Controls and more. AT&T Smart Controls also features discussion forums where visitors can chat about topics and share information with others; timely articles and educational resources on subjects such as identity theft, social networking safety and Wi-Fi security tips; as well as links to third-party experts, including government agencies, credit reporting bureaus, and more.
“AT&T Smart Controls equips today’s consumers with some of the most important and timely digital safety information available,” said Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). Organized by AT&T, FOSI participated in a focus group of online experts on the new website before it was rolled out. “Providing consumers with the tools and education to stay safe online is essential in today’s digital world; carriers like AT&T help further our efforts to make communications safer by creating sites like AT&T Smart Controls that help consumers make informed decisions about taking safety measures.”
Visit AT&T Smart Controls to learn more.
