Re: Devices Enforce Cellular Silence, Sweet but Illegal

[David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>]

I disagree  with jamming period/ djf

Begin forwarded message:

From: EEkid () aol com
Date: November 4, 2007 9:18:11 AM EST
To: dave () farber net, dfarber () cs cmu edu
Subject: Re: [IP] Devices Enforce Cellular Silence, Sweet but Illegal

This is a very interesting topic which I'm sure will be around for a  
long time or until it's properly addressed.

The problem of inconsiderate cell phone users goes well beyond that of  
being a simple nuisance.  My wife is a bank manager and regularly  
complains about the cell phone use behavior of her customers.  Her  
bank has a large number of customers each day.  Despite 9 teller  
windows in constant operation, lines are often 20+ minutes deep.  It  
is very common for customers to stand it line literally shouting at  
someone on the other end of a conversation while using their cell  
phone, using profanity and or speaking in an aggressive way, causing  
all around them to feel uncomfortable.  In one case, a man shouting  
into his cell phone using foul language was confronted by another  
customer, this resulted in an altercation and a physical assault which  
required police intervention.

Then there's the impact to the services the bank provides.   It's  
common for a customer enthralled in a conversation to arrive at the  
teller window and stand there refusing to perform his/her transaction  
while all those behind them in line wait for the conversation to end  
before they can receive their services. Think of the impact this has  
on the lives of the 30 to 50 people behind them.

She has posted signs which state "No Cell Phones Allowed" but they're  
regularly ignored.  As she says, what can I do?  I ask them to turn  
off their phone, if they refuse I can't call the police with such a  
complaint,  If you do call the police, they never arrive.

I was recently at a Pizzeria and noticed a no cell phone sign at the  
counter.  During a lull in business, I asked the cashier about it, she  
said

'People will wait in line, get to the counter and want to continue to  
talk shushing me if I attempt to get there attention.  Then, they  
haven't thought about what they want so they have to stand there and  
read the sign and think about their meal while everyone waits', she  
said.

I asked, does the sign help?  No, people just ignore it she replied.

While some claim cell phones don't impact driver safety, Two years ago  
I was on the other end of a conversation when the cell phone user had  
an accident while talking to me.  They ran into the rear of the car in  
front of them because they were focused on the conversation and not  
the traffic. They openly admit that if they hadn't been on the phone,  
the accident would not have happened.  Ironically, it was my wife.

Think of all the lost productivity due to personal cell phone use or  
cellular IM use, think of the fights, frustrations, loss of enjoyment  
and loss of time due to inconsiderate cell phone use.  Would short  
range jammers really be that bad?

If a restaurant had a jammer and a functioning land line for  
emergencies, what would be the loss?  If someone really needed to make  
a business call, they could simply walk outside as they should be  
doing anyway.

Other countries allow the use of low power cellular jammers in  
businesses and their society hasn't collapsed, perhaps it's time for  
the US to come up to speed with technology and do the same.



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