Post by Shadow on Sept 17, 2005 18:55:49 GMT -5
Houston Chronicle
Offering X-rated fare is becoming a big business for European carriers
By MATT RICHTEL and MICHEL MARRIOTT
New York Times
The cell phone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet — and the latest phones featuring large, bright color screens — the pornography industry is eyeing the cell phone as a lucrative target.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
The major American cellular carriers have so far refused to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs they may soften their stance. The industry's trade group is drafting ratings for mobile content like those for movies, signaling that phones will be a subject of viewer discretion
Offering X-rated fare is becoming a big business for European carriers
By MATT RICHTEL and MICHEL MARRIOTT
New York Times
The cell phone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet — and the latest phones featuring large, bright color screens — the pornography industry is eyeing the cell phone as a lucrative target.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
The major American cellular carriers have so far refused to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs they may soften their stance. The industry's trade group is drafting ratings for mobile content like those for movies, signaling that phones will be a subject of viewer discretion