New Mobile Solutions from AT&T Help Curb Distracted Driving for Business Customer Employees

AT&T News Release:


New Mobile Solutions from AT&T Help Curb Distracted Driving for Business Customer Employees

Associate PLEDGE and SafeCell Enterprise Help Businesses Take Control of Dangerous Behavior
Dallas, Texas, February 26, 2013


Mobile devices have made it easy to conduct business away from the office, but using these devices while driving can create significant safety risks. To help empower large and small businesses who have employees conducting business on the go, AT&T* will offer two mobile solutions, Associate PLEDGE® from AT&T and SafeCell Enterprise®  powered by AT&T, both aimed at reducing dangerous driving behavior among employees.

Available today, Associate PLEDGE® from AT&T is a mobile app that lets businesses conduct real-time monitoring and helps to enforce corporate policies on mobile devices while employees are driving. It is best suited for mobile employees, fleet drivers and sales teams that regularly travel on company business or operate company vehicles. Employers can manage and restrict device use while employee vehicles are in motion, including blocking phone calls, text messages and push-to-talk capabilities.

With SafeCell Enterprise® powered by AT&T (SafeCell Enterprise) businesses will be able to monitor employee device usage via GPS, gaining visibility into how fast employees are driving, and whether employees are in compliance with regulatory and corporate policies on their mobile devices while driving. This information, along with vehicle monitoring data will be combined in a single dashboard, allowing for easier monitoring and compliance with local, state and federal government restrictions around mobile device use. The solution is being designed for businesses with commercial fleets and will integrate with fleet management solutions typically used for vehicle monitoring and logging. SafeCell Enterprise will also allow an employer to block use of applications while in-transit, such as email, social media sites, texting and web browsing. AT&T is expected to make this product available in the coming weeks.

“Mobile devices are making it easy for businesses to rely on employees who work offsite,” said Chris Hill, Senior Vice President, Advanced Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. “But when those devices are used while driving, employees can put themselves and others at risk. Many businesses have policies in place to address this issue, but little means to enforce them. Associate PLEDGE from AT&T and SafeCell Enterprise powered by AT&T will help businesses enforce those policies and help keep employees safe.”

Associate PLEDGE from AT&T and SafeCell Enterprise powered by AT&T work across leading mobile device platforms and operating systems; and, because the solutions are hosted in the cloud, no additional hardware purchase is required. More information is available at www.att.com/PLEDGE and www.att.com/safecell.

AT&T also offers consumers AT&T DriveMode®** (www.att.com/drivemode), which, when downloaded and activated, automatically sends a customizable reply to incoming texts – notifying the sender that the user is driving and unable to respond. The auto-response is similar to an “out-of-office” email alert. AT&T’s anti-texting-while-driving mobile solution is part of the company’s broader “It Can Wait” campaign that aims to stigmatize texting while driving.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

** Data and text messaging charges may apply for download and app usage. Standard messaging rates apply to auto-reply messages. AT&T DriveMode is free to AT&T customers only. Compatible device required.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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