Wireless lobby prefers public awareness campaign over cell phone jammers

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) says better public education and not cell phone jammers is what’s needed to deal with people who use cell phones in restaurants, theatres and other public places. The CWTA has until July 12 to present Industry Canada with its views on cell phone jammers, following the government’s call for comments released last week – DGTP-002-01. Under current regulations, the use of cell phone jammers is prohibited in Canada. In issuing a call for comments, the department is trying to gage "whether the public interest would be served if the present occasional authorization of these devices, for law enforcement and public safety purposes, were to be broadened for wider niche market and location-specific application." In the CWTA’s view, the public would be better served without the technology. "(It’s not about) just private individuals not being able to make or receive calls – whether it’s a doctor on call or the couple that gave the babysitter the phone number – but also the police forces that use the cell phone as their basic emergency communications tool," CWTA president and CEO Peter Barnes told Report on Wireless. "So you can very quickly think of situations where public safety and individual safety are at risk because of jammers." The Radio Advisory Board of Canada is onside with the CWTA, but raised other interesting points in a recent report. In particular, it raises the question of unintentionally blocking service providers and the regulatory and legal implications of allowing third parties to jam licensed signals. A recent use of the technology by the RCMP demonstrates the potential utility of using cell phone jammers for public safety purposes. During UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent visit to the nation’s capital, the national police force used the jammers to ensure his safety. The wireless industry doesn’t object to having the technology used for such purposes. For the general public, however, it advocates a broad campaign that educates the growing number of wireless users on mobile phone and pager etiquette. The CWTA would like to see people use the silent and vibrate functions on their cell phones during performances in theatre halls or in restaurants for example. "We, as an association and an industry, (should) continue to enhance our educational efforts to remind people to put the phones on mute, put them on vibrate, don’t talk loud in public places and keep your conversations discrete and private," Barnes explains. The CWTA has already begun working with other associations, such as the Canadian Library Association, to get the message out. "Frankly, we think (educational work) is a much preferable situation than either allowing jammers generally or even in specific situations that we think could well be the thin edge of the wedge," says Barnes.

Wireless lobby prefers public awareness campaign over cell phone jammers

News | March 19, 2001

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