Cell Phone Jammer Illegal Despite Annoying Commuter Habits
People are officially fed up with fellow commuters and their poor cell phone habits. A renewed interest has been sparked in cell phone jammers after a news story revealed one commuter who was using a jammer to shut down annoying phone conversations during his commute.
One Philadelphia commuter decided to use a jammer to induce a more peaceful commute. He was tracked down by NBC10 and was caught using the device on their hidden camera. When approached by the news station the man, who identified himself as Eric, held no shame. "I guess I'm taking the law into my own hands, and quite frankly, I'm proud of it," he told NBC investigators.
"A lot of people are extremely loud, no sense of just privacy or anything. When it becomes a bother, that's when I screw on the antenna and flip the switch."
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Even with the device in hand, Eric reported being bothered by other's phone conversations. "It's still pretty irritating, and quite frankly, it's pretty rude," said Eric.
After the story was published Friday. a new trend caught on across the Internet, apparently Eric wasn't the only frustrated commuter. Those looking to take the law into their "own hands," however, will be dismayed to learn that the cell phone jamming device is illegal.
"With cell phone jammers, you are limiting all types of communication tools that use the radio frequencies. You have the potential to cause a public safety disaster. Cutting off communication by not only our public officials to their dispatch centers but also cutting off the public's communication to 911 can be a dangerous thing," Dr. D'Ovidio told NBC.
Although the station reported that Eric, after doing some of his own investigation, agreed to stop using the device due to legality issues he has still built up a fan base. "Hats off to this guy...People are out control with their use of cell phones these days and talking loudly in public places. It is irritating, rude, and bothersome. Very few calls are THAT important that you cant wait until you are in the privacy of your own home or car," Greg Locke wrote on Facebook. He was one of many to show support.
