Is the Philadelphia Cell Phone Jammer a Hero or a Plague?
No service? Maybe you got tapped by a cell phone jammer.A Philadelphia man sparked controversy after frequently using a device on a public bus to create a cell phone dead zone.
A reporter from NBC10 in Philadelphia recently tracked down the man who used a cell phone jammer on the bus to block drivers’ cell phone reception. His reason – he didn’t want to hear other people’s phone calls. He says he will turn on the illegal device when other passengers speak too loudly and disturb him.
The man identified as Eric told NBC reporters, “I think I take the law into my own hands, and frankly, I’m proud of it.”
A jammer is usually similar to a walkie-talkie and has multiple antennas that point at the top of the device. Its job is to disrupt, block or interfere with wireless communication including WiFi, cell phone reception, GPS and police radar.
Section 302 (b) of the Communications Act of 1934 [PDF] prohibits the “marketing, sale or use” of jammers. The federal government and companies tasked with federal work normally related to internal security are only allowed to use jammers. Like many uninformed people who have jammers, Eric believed that jamming was legal.
“We are concerned about the reported incident and are investigating it,” said Michelle Ellison, chief of the enforcement bureau for the Federal Communication Commission, in an email regarding the incident in Philadelphia.
