Cell-phone signal jammer already available on the Internet to security honchos and average. Cell phone signal jammer become surprisingly useful (and widely used) tool, and they could easily become as popular as cell phones themselves.
A cellular "security bubble" in London could have protected Bush from a very real threat: terrorists who use cell phones to detonate bombs from miles away, or even another country. By connecting a cell phone to hidden explosives, and then calling that phone, one can detonate a bomb (the electrical charge that activates the ringer on the cell phone serves as the triggering signal). In May 2002, Palestinian militants in Tel Aviv nearly caused a major explosion when they placed a bomb wired to a cell phone in a fuel truck headed for Israel's largest fuel depot. (The bomb detonated, but the fire was put out.)
In the United States, actively jamming a cell-phone signal is illegal. The FCC, which is the government agency in charge of regulating the airwaves, has established severe penalties for doing so. If you're caught at your local restaurant with the SH066PL2A/B, it's possible you could face an $11,000 fine and a one-year jail term. Possible, but apparently highly unlikely. It seems that the FCC has never charged anyone with this crime, even though the American market is one of the most important when it comes to selling cell phone signal jammer. One distributor (who wished to remain anonymous) told me they've exported approximately 300 jammers to the United States this year, more than to any other country. The exporter claims that buyers include restaurants, schools (including some universities, which have installed the technology to stop students from wirelessly diddling away on their phones during lectures), and personal users.
While the legality of this technology is unclear, odds are that the demand for such products will surge in the near future, as analysts predict that within five years there could be up to 1 billion camera phones in circulation worldwide. We may find ourselves in a "bottom up" surveillance society, where anyone can record anything, and send sound and image out to the Internet for those who want to watch and listen in. This is happening already: On Nov. 18 a club-goer snapped a picture of an allegedly vomit- and urine-soaked toy gorilla strapped to the grille of a police car parked in front of a popular hip-hop club in Portland, Ore. The picture triggered a minor scandal, forcing the Portland police department to explain why the incident wasn't racist.
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