Canada Talks about Jamming Cell Phones

(Telephony) Regulatory agency Industry Canada is seeking public comment about whether it should relax restrictions governing the use of cellular phone jamming devices.

Currently, the use of such devices is restricted to law-enforcement and emergency services. Jamming proponents would like to see jammers approved for use in restaurants, theaters, hospitals, aircraft and venues, for a variety of reasons, according to David E. Warnes, senior advisor of spectrum policy for Industry Canada’s telecommunications policy branch.

“A certain portion of the public wishes to preserve its quiet space,” Warnes said. “And we’ve been approached by distributors of these devices who are looking for a broader market above the current permissions that exist. But we have no predetermined policy position on this. We want to get the widest possible views to determine the actions, if any, the department should take to change our current licensing.”

A jammer prevents cellular signals from reaching the handset when it is within the device’s coverage area. Once the handset is outside of range, normal functions return. Sean O’Keefe, vice president of marketing for GPI, an Ottawa-based distributor of jamming devices, says expanding the circumstances of their use is a safety issue, not a matter of convenience.

“Using a cell phone on airplanes or in hospitals is already forbidden, because they can interfere with sensitive equipment, but it happens anyway,” he explained. “Jamming devices would prevent this.”

A spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) agrees that safety is an issue in this debate but adds that the use of jammers would be a safety risk, not a benefit.

“Three million calls are made to 911 in Canada every year,” he said. “To take that security and safety out of Canadians’ hands is unacceptable. Also, police officers rely on cellular phones. What would happen if an officer encountered a life-threatening situation in a shopping center, and couldn’t use his cell phone because a nearby restaurant was jamming it? Most Canadians would probably find that unacceptable.”

Industry Canada’s Warnes suggested that technology solutions could be developed to address that sort of situation.

“This would be intelligent technology that could actually pinpoint a particular zone on a phone and turn down the ringer, or turn the ringer to vibrate mode, rather than disable the phone completely,” he said.

Nevertheless, the CWTA spokesman said there is no guarantee the jamming devices themselves won’t negatively affect sensitive equipment, such as aircraft navigation equipment or hospital defibrillators. He suggested that self-policing is a better alternative to regulation when it comes to cellular phone abuse.

“As you know, the Canadian people are a polite lot to begin with,” he explained. “So, we deal with etiquette issues very quickly.”