Should personal smartphones become work phones?

CTIA, the international association of wireless communications companies, has some good news and some bad news.

Good news first? OK. It’s recommending that employees have the opportunity to use their own cell or smart phones for work. And now the bad news: Employees may have to start using their own phones for work.

“From a morale standpoint, employers may face some grumbling from employees who don’t want to foot the bill for what is at least partially a work tool,” Renee Oricchio wrote in a blog post at Inc.com. “Then again, some are relieved to pick their own devices.”

The trend is already well on its way. According to research from 451 Group, more than 70 percent of companies surveyed already allow their employees to use their own mobile devices for work.

“The use of employee-liable smartphones in the enterprise has become so pervasive that it is driving the rapid adoption of management and security products that allow IT managers to control a device regardless of who owns it,” Chris Hazelton, an analyst with 451, told ZDNet.