Cell Phone Jamming On the Rise

By Alice Hill
I wrote about cell phone jammers about 7 years ago when I was still doing the weekly newsletter for CNET.com. The topic intrigued me, and it generated a lot of interest and debate with the CNET readers. Even then, the technology was getting big in Japan where wall-mounted jammers were regularly deployed in theaters and restaurants to rid public places of annyoning conversations and ringing handsets.

But why were they illegal in the US? The main issue back then was the alleged risk to people with pacemakers. Apparently a jammer can mess with a pacemaker and potentially stop someone’s heart, which is why they were outlawed in the US, but I always found it odd that no one has actually reported on a jammer-induced death or pacemaker problem anywhere else in the world. If there are any doctors out there reading this - post something so we can learn more.

Meanwhile, there’s a new artcle out on illegal jammers hitting the streets of NY (see below). You can buy jammers online from companies in England, but again, keep in mind that these are illegal products in the US. Not sure what will happen, but I guess jammers are like the early radar detectors and the controversey detectors raised back in the day. And I just know for a fact, half the hotels I check into must be using something, because I can’t get a signal on most floors to save my life. Coencidence? Hmmmmmmm….

Here’s an excerpt from the NY Post Online:

“Cellphone jammers — illegal gizmos that interfere with signals and cut off reception — are selling like hotcakes on the streets of New York. “I bought one online, and I love it,” said one jammer owner fed up with the din of dumb conversations and rock-and-roll ringtones.

“I use it on the bus all the time. I always zap the idiots who discuss what they want from the Chinese restaurant so that everyone can hear them. Why is that necessary?” He added, “I can’t throw the phones out the window, so this is the next best thing.”

Online jammer seller Victor McCormack said he’s made “hundreds of sales” to New Yorkers. “The interest has gone insane in the last few years. I get all sorts of people buying them, from priests to police officers.”

“Jammers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from portable handhelds that look like cellphones to larger, fixed models as big as suitcases. Their sole goal is to zip inconsiderate lips. The smaller gadgets emit radio frequencies that block signals anywhere from a 50- to 200-foot radius. They range in price from $250 to $2,000.

“Jammers were first developed to help government security forces avert eavesdropping and thwart phone-triggered bombings. But by the late 1990s they were being sold to the public. There are suspicions that some hotel chains employ jammers to cut down on guests’ cellphone use and boost in-room phone charges.” Source: NY Post