Cellular Jamming Keep Peace
(AP) It was the reporters
who noticed first. Unable to call their editors while covering the
weddings of the rich and famous, they asked the priest why their
cell phones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counter
intelligence. In four Monterrey churches, Israeli-made mobile phone
frequency jammer the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively
among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints.
The jarring polychromatic
din of ringing cell phones is increasingly being thwarted - from
religious sanctuaries to India's parliament to Tokyo theaters and
commuter trains - by devices originally developed to help security
forces avert eavesdropping and thwart phone-triggered bombings.
The Indian parliament had mobile phone frequency jammers installed
after politicians ignored requests to turn off their cell phones
and legislative sessions were constantly interrupted.
In Italy, universities
started using the blocker mobile after discovering that cell phone-savvy
teenagers were cheating on exams by sending text messages or taking
pictures of tests. The four Roman Catholic Churches in this northern
city began using the devices, from e-mobile of www.cell-phone-jammers.com,
after an insurance salesman imported them as a personal favor for
a priest.
"There are still
many people who don't understand that being at Mass is sharing
a moment with God," said the Rev. Juan Jose Martinez, a spokesman
for archdiocese. "Sadly, we had no other choice but to use
these mobile phone frequency jammer." Purchased for about
$2,000 each, they can be turned on by remote control and emit
low-level radio frequencies that thwart cell phone signals within
a 100-foot radius.
Users get a "no
service" or "signal not available" message on their
cell phones. Although Mexico has no law against the devices, the
private use of blocker mobile is illegal in the United States and
most Western countries. But the tide is turning.
Japan allows public
places such as theaters and concert halls to install cellular signal
jammer, provided they obtain a government-issued license. And last
week, France's industry minister approved a decision to let cinemas,
concert halls and theaters install cellular signal jammers - as
long as provisions are in place so emergency calls can still be
made. Canada had considered allowing blocking in similar situations.
But Industry Canada, which regulates the country's telecommunications,
decided against it, saying cellular jamming could infringe on personal
freedom and affect public safety by crippling communication with
law enforcement and security agencies.
Officials at e-mobile,
which sold its first cell phone frequency jammer in 1998, say
they are selling thousands of blocker mobile a year and have expanded
their business throughout the world. They're far from the only
manufacturers. Cellular signal jammer are sold the world over,
with dozens of suppliers selling them on the Internet. Tokyo-based
Medic Inc. sold thousands of its Wave Wall mobile phone frequency
jammer before the government stepped in and regulated their use
to venues with live performances. Commuters still buy cell phone
signal jammers to shut up chatty train passengers, even though
their use is illegal.
In Scotland, businessman
Ronnie McGuire, owner of Electron Electrical Engineering Services,
imported India-made blocker mobile and sold them to hotels, restaurants
and bars until a local newspaper reported his activities, which
were illegal in Britain. McGuire has said he will still import the
Taiwanese devices but sell them for export only to countries where
they are allowed. Kumaar Thakkar, the director of marketing and
sales for e-mobile, wouldn't say how many cellular signal jammer
the company sells per year or what country buys the most.
In Mexico, the main
clients of cellular signal jammers have been banks looking to stop
would-be robbers from communicating with their accomplices and the
Mexican government, which is planning to use cell blockers at prisons,
Haim said. In Monterrey, the Sacred Heart church, a baroque temple
favored by Mexico's elite for weddings, church officials acquired
their blocker mobile two years ago. "Whenever there was a wedding,
cell phones would ring every five minutes," said Bulmaro Carranza,
a parish clerk. "It was a real problem because there were times
when even the groom would forget to turn his cell phone off."
For months, the mobile phone frequency jammer went unnoticed until
reporters covering the weddings began complaining that their cell
phones never worked.
Since word of the
cellular jamming went public, priests from around Mexico have
been calling to find out how to get them, said Carranza. At Sacred
Heart, a cellular signal jammer at the entrance to the church
and another by the altar are turned on right before every Mass.
Still, priests remind parishioners to turn off their phones before
beginning the services, hoping good cell phone etiquette will
eventually catch on.
The other Monterrey
churches with the mobile phone frequency jammers - The Rosario,
San Juan Bosco and Our Lady Queen of the Angels - are also frequented
by wealthier parishioners, Martinez said. "For a lot of them,
the cell phone is a necessity. But that shouldn't prevent them from
having good manners and remembering that one must respect sacred
places," Martinez said. Margarita Escobedo, a Catholic who
goes to church at least twice a week and volunteers at the San Genaro
church, says she would welcome the cellular signal jammer in her
parish, where cell phones are becoming a nuisance. "Those who
bring cell phones to church are not committed to God," Escobedo
said. "It's very distracting to be praying and suddenly hear
birds chirping or techno music." |