A man in Chicago was so annoyed by the telephone conversations of his fellow travelers in the elevation that he interrupted the cell phone signal with a jammer. He was accused.
Such jammers are also prohibited in Germany. Anyone who uses them must pay up to 500,000 euros.
By Jessica Binsch
In addition to delays and crowds, extensive and loud mobile phone calls from other passengers are the greatest evil. After a couple of stations you are familiar with relations, shopping lists and work projects of fellow travelers in all detail. A man from Chicago was so annoyed by telephonists in the elevation of the city that he radically defended himself and therefore should soon be in court.
The 63-year-old is said to have used a jammer in the railway. These devices radiate on the same frequency as cell phone signals. Simply put, they create a basic noise and prevent the actual signals from coming through.
The man was apparently traveling several times with his jammer. Blogger noticed the black device with the five antennas, which he carried with him. The police also received complaints from railway travelers because of the disturbed mobile phone reception, reports the Chicago newspaper Sun-Times. In Chicago, the trains of the city are mostly overground, so passengers can always make a phone call. The police finally caught the man in action.
The use of a jammer is illegal. The devices block not only unpleasant conversations of seat neighbors in the train, but also emergency calls. The man was arrested on Wednesday in Chicago for disturbing the public infrastructure. He had been annoyed by the phone calls of the fellow travelers, said the prosecutor of the Sun Times. The man's lawyer said his client had no bad intentions. He admitted, however, that his behavior had been unsocial. The judge, to whom the suspect was led, commented, "Ah, the hand-held police."
Who prevents emergency calls with a jammer, makes himself a criminal offense
The use of jamming transmitters is also prohibited in Germany. Anyone who uses them commits an administrative offense. This can be punished with a fine of up to 500,000 euros, says Michael Reifenberg of the Federal Network Agency. Nor can they be ordered on the Internet because their importation is prohibited, says Reifenberg. Anyone who prevents emergency calls with a jammer can even be prosecuted.
The ban also applies to public places: For example, a school may not be able to paralyze all mobile phones during the tests, so that no student can use the equipment. The only exception are prisons. "This was specially regulated for the correction of the jail, since jammers can be used," says Reifenberg. The devices are supposed to prevent that prisoners use unauthorized mobile phones.
The Federal Network Agency is responsible for the allocation of radio frequencies, also for those on which the jamming jammers transmit. "Anyone who operates a jammer is prohibited to use frequencies for which he has no license," says Stephan Dreyer of the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research at the University of Hamburg.
Anyone who notices a fault can contact the Federal Network Agency via a hotline. If the authority finds that a jamming transmitter has actually been used, it may pull in the device and destroy it.
Bahnfahrern, therefore, remains only to ask annoying neighbors politely, to telephone more quietly. And at the next own talk perhaps even to pay attention to the volume.
