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Canada Considers Cellphone Jammers
Mark Cappel writes: "Computerworld reports the Canadian equivalent to the US FCC is considering licensing the use of cellphone jammers. One person quoted in the article says, essentially, if a property owner does not want people to use cell phones on his property, then why not jam 'em?"
Yes, they almost certainly would.
In 1973, my uncle died in a Tulsa movie theatre after getting stuck to the floor in an awkward position that caused a bloot clot in his leg. It took several hours for help to arrive, because nobody could find a nickel for the payphone in the lobby. My aunt successfully sued the owner of the theatre for Operating a Public Venue Prior to the Widespread Availability of Lifesaving Cellphones.
A few months ago a woman here in town slipped and fell in the French Cultural Center gift shop and punctured her spleen on a miniature Eiffel Tower. Nobody in the store happened to have a cell phone to call 911 with, and she sued every last one of them. A jury awarded her over $24m in combined damages.
Just this morning I was walking down the street and a police officer ran up to me and demanded to use my cell phone to call his dispatcher because his car had been stolen. My batteries were worn down and he was unable to make the call. I was then arrested, and only got bailed out a few minutes ago.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
Cell phone users drive worse than drunks, by a long shot. I want to build a mobile one and attach it to my motorcycle.
Carpe Deez
Because then you are interfering with public/private property. Just because a plane flies over your house doesn't give you the right to shoot it down for tresspassing. Think about it.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
i can see where jamming cell phone where they are horribly annoying is good... however it would be better if there was some kind of cell phone maker organization that setup somethign were you could buy a device that would make tell cell phones that they are in a 'quiet zone' and then they would not ring audibly and if their user doesn't pick up, inform the person on the other side that their use is in a 'quiet zone' and take a message...
:)
there could potentially be override ability for actual need (ie emergency type things) somehow (*shrug* i'm not going to actually make a device, i'm just throwing out ideas
Need a Catering Connection
I'm an American, but I'll be the first to admit that Canada is leading the information-technology revolution and leaving the US in the dust. Thirty years ago, parts of New Brunswick still didn't have running water. Now they're hotbeds of technological innovation.
Canada is ideal for two reasons: a small disperse population and a friendly regulatory environment. Unlike the US to the south, Canada's governments know how to spur economic and technological innovation by adopting stimulative regulations; a best-of-both-worlds approach where economic competition is suppressed in favor of great horizontal development. Monopolies become numerous, but the market is best served by maintaining control in the hands of the few where it can be best put to use. Take the Canadian health-care system, for example. The government has a monopoly on health care, but access is guaranteed to all. Perhaps the DOJ and its zealous persecution of Microsoft can learn something from this.
The American film industry is moving to Canada, as are giants in the IT industry. Fifty years ago, technology like this would've had to have been developed and deployed in the US if it were to be taken seriously. Now, it can be developed, deployed, and perfected in Canada, where it can then be exported to the rest of the world. Canada is about to replace the US as the world's largest exporter of electronic and devices and will likely supplant the US as the world's biggest superpower within a few decades.
Cellphone-jamming technology, whatever its moral and legal implications, is just another step in Canada's conquest of the twenty-first century. Expect more from Canada.
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Firstly, the coverage is so poor. Here in Tennessee, digital coverage is a 10-mile radius blob over Nashville itself, some 3-mile thick lines running along the interstates and some small blobs over the larger cities. Now, it's fair to say that the low population density makes it less financially attractive to cover the more rural areas but you have to remember that people buy cellphones so they can be contacted wherever they go. In the UK, it's annoying if you enter a deadspot for a few minutes in a day. Now imagine that it's like that 80% of the time or more in the USA for many people.
Secondly, here in the USA, mobile numbers are real numbers. That means that someone calling a mobile pays a normal rate and the owner of a mobile has to pick up the remaining cost. Most of the rest of the world, it's a higher charge to call a mobile and the owner doesn't pay. This means the owner of the mobile is in charge of their expenses. This is both a deterrent to callers so essential calls only tend to get made (Not your mother talking about her friends dodgy knee) but also insures that if someone calls, you don't have to rudely ask them to stop talking to you as it's costing you too much.
Rich
it would be better if there was some kind of cell phone maker organization that setup somethign were you could buy a device that would make tell cell phones that they are in a 'quiet zone'
You mean something like this?
In my opinion, it's much better if cell-phone jamming is optional, rather than accomplished by brute force. What if the babysitter is trying to tell me there's been an emergency at home, and my phone doesn't even vibrate?