IP: Jammin'

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

From: Bosley_J <Bosley_J () BLS GOV>
To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 12:32:52 -0400


Hi Dave-
Dave Staudt thought you might like to see this note that I got from a
colleague. Have a good weekend and jam them cell phones!!
John Bosley

----------
From:   Kennedy_Jim
Sent:   Friday, August 28, 1998 9:21 AM
To:     Bosley_J
Subject:        Jammin'
Importance:     Low

John
Thought you might appreciate this little item from C|NET -- a useful new
technology (if you ride the trains, you know what a pain it is to have
some jerk shouting into his phone next to you).
Jim

        After my vacation in Greece--which was wonderfully free of
        URLs, but packed with more obnoxious cell phone users per
        square mile than any place I've ever been--I stumbled across a
        disturbing but interesting new technology that allows you to
        jam the airwaves and prevent cell phone calls within a
        prescribed radius.

        "Jamming" is already happening in Japan, a country that could
        probably put the mobile-phoning Grecos to shame. The Wave
        Wall, by a company called Medic Inc., is a cigarette-sized
        transceiver with a 20-foot jamming radius. It's a pricey $480,
        but cafes, theaters, and high-end restaurants are already
        using these devices to keep the peace.

        Of course the implications are huge (which is why I like this
        topic). The Japanese government is concerned about emergency
        calls being blocked, potential interference with pacemakers,
        and so forth. But I'm picturing the inevitable American
        version--a freakish cyberjammer who roams the streets
        gleefully interrupting calls, or prowls the highways making
        callers truly "hang up and drive."

        Need I say more? I have no idea when the jammers will hit our
        shores, but it sure makes you look back at the days of "Hang
        on, I'm going into a tunnel and may lose the connection" with
        a certain innocent fondness. Now you'll never know if it's the
        connection or the suspicious-looking minivan in the slow lane.