Movement To Silence Cell Phones Gaining Steam

January 22, 2001|By Lisa Guernsey, New York Times News Service.

The Wild West of wireless communication appears to be coming to an end. It is time for rules, enforcement and new technology that takes care of those understandably forgetful--or unforgivably rude--cell phone users who don't comply.

Cell phone discouragement takes the form of posted signs restricting their use, walls and ceilings with metal mesh to block the signals, and devices that detect and warn people of a phone's presence. Some people have gone further: They have equipped their buildings with radio jammers that render cell phones useless.

That is not to say, however, that banning or blocking these mobile devices has become acceptable, or legal, in some cases. According to recent industry figures, more than 100 million Americans carry cell phones. Surely they expect to use them, at least most of the time.

Simply banning or discouraging cell phone use seems to be the most popular technique so far. These days, for example, movie watchers are often treated to preshow messages reminding them to turn off their phones. "No Phone" signs are appearing in churches, classrooms, auditoriums, concert halls and opera houses. In 1999, about 19 percent of restaurants with average per-person check prices of at least $25 said they had a policy regulating the use of cell phones in their dining areas, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Ed Moose, the owner of Moose's Restaurant in San Francisco, turned his establishment into a "cell phone free" zone about a year ago. He compares the phenomenon to no-smoking policies. If people have to make or take a call, they must go to the hallway with the phone booths. Even there, because cell phone users tend to talk so loudly, other patrons often ask them to go outside.

"Now the smokers and the phoners meet on the sidewalk," he said.

But to Gil Israeli, the chief executive of Netline Communications, a company in Tel Aviv, a sign saying "No Cell Phones" does not go far enough. Mobile phones have become such a public nuisance, he said, that a technological fix is required. His solution is the C-Guard Cellular Firewall, a cell phone jammer developed by his company about 2 1/2 years ago.

The C-Guard comes in two forms: a $900 version that is slightly smaller than a video cassette, and a $6,500 high-powered version that resembles a black briefcase with an antenna sticking out of the top. The device works by sending out radio signals to phones within its coverage area, preventing the phones from decoding the network's real signals. Without that communication, the phones act as if they are outside a coverage area, where they cannot send or receive calls.

Netline has sold thousands of the devices, Israeli said, but he was tight-lipped about his customers. There is a good reason: Cell phone jammers are illegal in most countries, including the United States.

In October 1999, after C-Guard and other jammers began to be described in news articles, the Federal Communications Commission issued a public notice reaffirming a 1934 law that prohibits the use of transmitters to block radio communication. The FCC said it had been receiving inquiries about the devices for legitimate use in hospitals, theaters and other locations. But it argued that it must protect the public interest--the uninhibited use of the public airwaves.

The FCC and some wireless experts also have argued that the jamming signals would inevitably travel outside their intended area, blocking calls that are permitted. But according to Netline, the devices can be finely tuned and installed with panels to redirect signals that would otherwise leak out.

Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications loosened its restrictions on cell phone jamming two years ago. As an experiment, it decided to provide licenses for jammers in limited areas, like live-performance theaters and concert halls, to "prevent public nuisance."

So far, about 50 licenses for jammers have been approved, according to a ministry official.

Some radio engineers have come up with another solution. If jammers aren't the answer, they ask, what about detectors? Zetron Inc., a company in Redmond, Wash., makes radio-based devices that can detect the presence of a cell phone as far as 30 meters away, if it is on. When that happens, the detector can do one or more of three things: sound an alarm, broadcast a voice message over speakers (something like: "Cell phones are prohibited in this area.") or send a signal to security guards in a nearby room.

So far, 80 percent of Zetron's cell phone detectors are sold to medical centers, where incubators, defibrillators and heart monitors may be impeded by electromagnetic interference from cell phones or walkie-talkies, especially if they are placed directly on top of the equipment.

In the mid-1990s, several medical journals reported anecdotes of screens going blank and data being scrambled, likely by the presence of radios and mobile phones. Since then, many hospitals have posted signs banning cell phones near intensive care units, and some have prohibited mobile phones throughout the building--although doctors and visitors have complained that they need to be connected, and some experts say that hospitalwide bans are going overboard.

The rest of Zetron's market is more secretive about their use, said Kent Wentworth, a Zetron manager. These customers include security companies, military agencies and experts who do counterintelligence work for corporations.