At least 1 in every 10 robberies involves the theft of a phone, FCC Requests Action

A Federal Communications Commission study concluded that thieves steal more than a million phones a year. Of all robberies committed annually in the United States, about one in 10 involves the theft of a mobile device.

Many phones come with remote wiping or locking features, so that if the unthinkable happens you can keep prying eyes from accessing your files. The largest cellular networks in the country have also voluntarily agreed to add such features in all new smartphones made after July 2015. But now the FCC wants to cement that agreement -- and on a much faster timetable. In letters sent to Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular, Chairman Wheeler asked the companies to make "'lock/wipe/restore" functionality operational by default on all devices … by the end of the first quarter of 2015." Unsurprisingly, wireless lobbyists are pushing back against what it calls the "artificial deadline" set by the FCC.