G* should invest in these guys (see below). Would force callers to go outside :-) (i'm kidding... sort of...)
July 6, 1999
Asian Technology
Cell-Phone Blocker Puts Control
In Hands of Those Wanting Quiet
By STAN SESSER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
THE BEAUTIFUL sound of silence.
Slipping under the wire as one of the great inventions of the 20th century, a
small device is now being sold that could confine the noise level in Asian
cities merely to roaring trucks, pounding jackhammers and blaring music.
What's missing from that list? The incessant ringing of mobile phones.
C-Guard, a device the size of a large paperback book that is made by
Israel-based Netline Communications Technologies, performs nothing
short of a miracle: It can disable every mobile phone in a large room.
When plugged in or attached to a battery pack, it sends out a signal that
tricks a cell phone into thinking that it can't make or receive calls. The
phone will simply say "no network" and go dead.
If there ever was a product perfect for my home city of Hong Kong, this is
it. Hong Kong is a place where people will go out to dinner with friends,
then spend the entire meal on their cell phone. In cinemas, phones not only
ring, but get answered.
While waiting for my loaner model of C-Guard to arrive from Israel, I
fantasized about my new life without the constant ringing of cell phones.
On subway trains, where riders seem to fondle their phones in a
quasi-erotic fashion while waiting for the next call, all the stroking would
do no good. No more meals in restaurants would be punctuated by the
toreador aria from the opera "Carmen" (a favorite choice among phone
carriers who think normal ringing isn't annoying enough).
A Hong Kong restaurant seemed the perfect place for a C-Guard test run
-- but then I chickened out. I had a vision of a young couple eating away,
oblivious to the fact that their baby-sitter was frantically trying to reach
them to report an emergency. Could I live with my conscience?
SO, AS A COMPROMISE, I arranged to bring my C-Guard to an
important Hong Kong panel discussion covered by the news media. The
organizer gave me permission to test the device if I agreed not to identify
the venue, lest he be assailed by outraged cell-phone addicts.
C-Guard passed its test admirably. For 90 minutes, the only sound in the
room was the speaking of panelists and questions from the audience. Then,
15 minutes before the end, a TV cameraman moving his equipment jostled
the C-Guard's adapter, which fell out of the electrical outlet. Immediately
the chorus started, including the endless ringing of someone's phone in a
backpack that had been flung into a corner of the room. The conference
sponsor, who had been so nervous that morning about my experiment that
he almost withdrew permission, later called to tell me what a joy the nearly
ringless proceedings had been.
Are there any problems? The C-Guard is too big to fit into a pocket. And
it's expensive, costing about US$1,000. Most important, it might well be
illegal.
The size and cost could both come down considerably with mass
production, says Gil Israeli, Netline's vice president, to perhaps $100 and
to the size of its archenemy, a mobile phone. The legality is a much trickier
question.
While Netline says the issue has never been tested in the courts, the
company takes the position that laws protecting privacy supersede laws
forbidding unauthorized transmitting devices. "The problems created by
mobile phones are a new thing," says Mr. Israeli. "We claim the laws that
enable a property owner to do as he pleases in his own private premises
are stronger than laws governing transmissions."
What about my fantasy of taking my C-Guard with me into subways,
concert halls and restaurants? Even Netline balks at that. "We don't
encourage people to carry around phone blockers because this will cause
anarchy," Mr. Israeli says. "No one has the right to walk down the street
and stop people from having a conversation. But the owner of a restaurant,
which is a private place, does have that right."
LATE LAST YEAR, in fact, Japan's Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications apparently issued a regulation legitimizing the use of
mobile-phone jammers on someone's own property. I say "apparently"
because that's what one news article reported, and Mr. Israeli says he
knew about the action. But a ministry spokesman didn't reply to a request
seeking confirmation. Mr. Israeli says he knows of "many countries that
are in the process of authorizing it, but I don't want to jeopardize formal
approval by naming them."
Given the cost and questionable legality, Netline isn't counting on selling to
people annoyed with mobile phones. At the moment, its leading customers
are prisons, banks and the military. Banks, Mr. Israeli explains, fear that a
robbery could be coordinated by cell phones, and armies don't like mobile
phones for two reasons: Conversations between soldiers can be easily
intercepted, and a cell phone is subject to a remote attack that can turn it
into a bugging device. Mr. Israeli says that Netline sells "hundreds" of
C-Guards each month all over the world, and that the customers also
include recording studios, cinemas and concert halls.
But if an individual, intent on committing the crime of the century by having
a quiet meal in a restaurant, wanted to order a C-Guard, Mr. Israeli says,
Netline wouldn't turn him or her away. "We fill all orders," he maintains.
"We're not geared to know exactly what the law is in every country. We
leave that to the customer."
So, for anyone reading this who is more courageous than myself, all that
remains is to give you the Web address: www.cguard.com. E-mail me so I
can share your pleasure vicariously.
Stan Sesser can be contacted at stan.sesser@news.awsj.com.
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