Last year, Bark published a case study that analyzed over 2.1 billion texts, emails, and 30+ apps and social media platforms. Meena said C Spire also is offering the premium service to postpaid customers at a discounted $10 per month. Bark Jr helps families manage screen time, filter websites and get location check-ins.
"When it comes to protecting our children from online threats, it's imperative that their use of social media platforms is monitored and managed, and Bark is an essential tool for parenting in the digital age."īark Jr, the free tool being offered, requires enrollment and is an entry-level product for postpaid and prepaid wireless consumers designed for families and younger children. "While there are many options for parental controls, C Spire chose Bark because it offers meaningful, real-time protection," Meena said. "Parents and families are clamoring for a comprehensive solution to pornography, online predators, cyberbullying," said C Spire President and CEO Hu Meena. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent switch to virtual and remote learning heightened awareness of the perils of online dangers for children. Bark also works with local and national law enforcement to escalate cases of online predation and alert authorities of credible school shooting threats. In addition, the company's screen time management and web filtering tools help parents set healthy limits around how and when children use their mobile devices. To date, Bark has detected 262,000 severe self-harm situations and flagged more than 2.1 million severe bullying instances by monitoring social media platforms, apps, text messages, and emails.
Since launching in 2015, Bark has used its innovative and industry-leading software service to protect more than 5.6 million children across the country. Customers can also take advantage of a paid premium service that monitors 30+ of the most popular apps for signs of issues like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, threats of violence and more. The upshot: Amid widespread complaints that smaller telcos in more rural areas aren’t keeping pace, C Spire is proving otherwise thanks to a mix of both high-end wired and wireless technologies.The wireless services division of the Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services firm is working with Bark Technologies to provide their award-winning service to help families manage and protect their children's digital lives. It’s part of the company’s ongoing efforts to bring the benefits of next-generation 5G and fixed wireless technology to consumers and businesses in its region, “all with the goal of helping solve a huge economic problem-how to efficiently and cost-effectively deploy fiber-based services in rural and underserved areas, which comprise the majority of our service area,” said Dave Miller, C Spire senior media relations manager. C Spire expects to test speeds as it transmits HD video content from its fiber-based commercial television service, the company said. C Spire has been testing 5G network technology, putting the small, regional operator alongside market heavyweights like AT&T and Verizon.
Moreover, C Spire has worked to ensure its wireless network, underpinned by an estimated 1,400 cell sites, remains at the head of the curve: The carrier recently announced it rolled out carrier aggregation using 2.5 GHz spectrum in 40 markets, which it said will enable users to access peak download speeds of 100 Mbps-up from typical speeds between 5 Mbps and 12 Mbps.Īnd that’s not all. The privately held company remains the sixth largest wireless network operator in the country with an estimated 1 million subscribers, and appears to have largely resisted the M&A rush that overtook other smaller providers like Alltel. But C Spire’s fiber advancements pale in comparison to its wireless achievements.