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COURTESY CALLING
The French have legalised mobile phone jamming in
public places, but what will it take to make Australians more considerate, asks
Joshua Gliddon. One-sided conversations are painful, but at least you've
got the option of edging away. But what about when you're on a bus and are
forced to listen to someone else's mobile phone conversation? Short of jumping
off at the next stop, or strangling the selfish person, you're powerless. Not so in France, which recently became the first western
country to legalise mobile phone jamming in public spaces. Surveys conducted by
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) found that the majority of French citizens were in
favour of mobile jamming. Don't hold your breath for it to happen in Australia,
however, as it's illegal and there's no moves afoot to change the law. The TNS surveys also found that most western European
citizens were in favour of some sort of mobile jamming in public spaces. Support
for these measures was significant across all age groups. Although similar
surveys are not available for Australia, Paul Slocum, media director for the
Australian Communications Authority, says that it regularly receives queries
about the availability and legality of mobile jammers in Australia. "Jamming is illegal in Australia, and has been for
some time," says Slocum. "It's also illegal to supply a jammer or to
possess a jamming device." The problem with jamming is in limiting its range, he says,
as well as limiting the range of devices that get jammed. "A mobile jammer
could interfere with emergency services communication. We're not going to change
the legislation." Ross Monaghan, CEO of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications
Association, acknowledges that inappropriate mobile phone use is a problem,
especially on public transport and in theatres. However, like the ACA, he's
concerned about the unwanted effects of jammers. "There could be legal issues if a signal is
jammed," he says. "What if someone was waiting for an important call,
or if there was a medical emergency and they were unable to call because of a
mobile jammer?" Although AMTA's policy is to educate consumers about
appropriate use, there's no co-ordinated awareness strategy. Monaghan says that
individual handset manufacturers, carriers and venues should conduct their own
education programs. In the end, appropriate mobile phone use is a matter of
etiquette and consideration. Jamming won't teach people manners, but a subtle
reminder might help create more considerate mobile users. But are ad hoc
programs enough? Perhaps it's time that AMTA really looked at a concerted,
industry-wide education initiative.
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