Kill Pill for Subsidized Netbooks

Not actual netbook with Kill Pill

In many countries, wireless carriers are subsidizing Netbooks that customers can get for free or for very cheap in exchange of subscribing to a data plan. LM Ericsson AB, the company that makes the 3G modem for many Netbooks has integrated a Kill Pill or Kill Switch that would allow the carrier to disable the computer remotely – until the customer has paid his bill, obviously.

“We call it a ‘kill pill,’” (Mats Norin, Ericsson’s vice president of mobile broadband modules)