AT&T Goes to the Dogs

CTIA Wireless — AT&T has its hands in just about everything these days, so why not dog collars?

Earlier this week, we told you how the telco giant was about ready to unveil a new tablet computer. But the company’s wireless reach goes far beyond so-called traditional wireless devices. You might even say AT&T’s gone to the dogs.

AT&T soon will sell a dog collar that sends an e-mail or a text to its owner if it gets out of its yard. It’s even capable of tracking your pet wherever it goes. No word yet exactly when it will go on sale or how much it will cost, but the company demonstrated the device at the CTIA Wireless show this week.

But why limit the market to dogs? Someone in the crowd at CTIA jokingly asked if it could track his teenager.

Not a dog lover? Perhaps you take oodles of medication and want to be reminded so you don’t miss a dose. The company will offer a wireless pill box that helps you remember.

These seemingly gimmicky products are expected to help AT&T bring in $1 billion in annual services revenue by the year 2015.

“We see opportunities in dogs, in pallets, in cars and how you take your pills,” Ralph de la Vega, the head of AT&T’s mobile business, said at the CTIA annual wireless trade show, according to Reuters.