Kill Pill Allows AT&T to Disable Subsidized Netbooks

A new feature called a 'kill pill' will allow wireless carriers to disable subsidized netbooks if customers haven't paid their bill, according to an Excite News report.

LM Ericsson AB, the Swedish company that makes many of the modems that go into laptops, announced Tuesday that its new modem will deal with this issue by including a feature that's virtually a wireless repo man. If the carrier has the stomach to do so, it can send a signal that completely disables the computer, making it impossible to turn on.

"We call it a 'kill pill,'" said Mats Norin, Ericsson's vice president of mobile broadband modules.

The module is said to work on AT&T's network and many other 3G networks.

LM Ericsson modem says the modem can also remain active while a computer is off. This would allow it to listen for wireless messages and wake up the computer when an important email or call is received.

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