Scots Lead the Way Buying Mobiles for Kids

Scots Lead the Way Buying Mobiles for Kids

LONDON, December 1/PRNewswire/ --


- One.Tel research reveals 71% of Scottish parents have bought mobiles
for their kids
- Nearly 9 million UK parents buy phones for kids amid safety concerns




One.Tel, the UK's leading alternative communications company, has found
that 71% of Scottish parents have bought mobile phones for their kids,
compared to 67% across the rest of the UK.



A generation ago it was the norm to not have the means to contact your
children, but now, in an era of mass communication, such a lack of contact
has become unacceptable to most parents. So, despite the kudos kids see in
owning a mobile and the associated 'pester power', it seems that parents have
largely been persuaded by concerns about the safety and whereabouts of their
kids, with 72% of Scottish parents feeling less worried knowing that their
child has a mobile - compared to 68% nationally.



In terms of calling patterns, Scottish parents appear to be less worried
about their kids with only 61% calling once a day on average, whilst London
parents who had bought mobiles for their kids, seem to worry more, with 73%
calling once a day - the highest rate in the UK. Yet, at 58%, London has the
lowest number of parents having bought their children mobiles, whilst the
highest was in Scotland with 71% compared with 70% in the North, 68% in the
English Midlands and 66% in Southern England.



Another striking statistic to emerge is amongst parents who make multiple
calls to their children every day. This occurs more and more the further
North you travel - 22% of Scottish parents call their children up to 3 times
a day, compared with 18% in London, 19% in the rest of the South, 20% in the
Midlands and Wales, and 21% in Northern England.



73% of Scottish parents would be more inclined to buy mobiles for their
children if calls between their land line and mobile were free. This compares
with 53% in London, 56% in the rest of the Southern England, 67% in the
Midlands and 57% in Northern England.



One.Tel Marketing Director, Mike Holliday Williams, said:



"Parents now see mobiles as an essential item for kids, due to concerns
about their children's whereabouts and safety. Indeed, 72% of Scottish
parents said they would be less worried if their child had a mobile - and
across the UK, 59% of parents would be more likely to buy their child a
mobile if calls between their land line and their child's mobile were free.
Parents are reassured knowing that their child has a mobile, but the cost of
calling remains an issue. So, to meet the needs of the many parents who will
be buying mobiles for their children this Christmas, we are launching a
service where calls between land lines and mobiles on the same account are
free."



Notes for Editors



These findings are based on research carried out for One.Tel by You.gov.
1,400 parents of school age children were surveyed



About One.Tel



One.Tel is one of the UK's leading communications companies, providing
over a million fixed line, mobile and Internet services to customers. One.Tel
is famous for its low cost call rates both at home and abroad and is an
Internet Service Provider, offering flat fee and per minute narrowband
connection and broadband services.



One.Tel is part of Centrica Telecommunications, which is the leading
alternative communications supplier in the UK with over 1.75 million fixed
line, mobile and Internet accounts across its brands - One.Tel, Telco Global
and British Gas.



Centrica acquired One.Tel UK in July 2001. Centrica also operates under
two other brands in the UK - British Gas, Scottish Gas.



Source: One.Tel Ltd

For further information please contact: Fiona Jennings, +44-(0)7769-847-460 / +44-(0)20-7181-7273, fiona.jennings@onetel.co.uk; Julian Jordan, +44-(0)7717-855-411 / +44-(0)20-7181-7875, julian.jordan@onetel.co.uk


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