85% of people in France are in favour of blocking mobile phone signals in public places according to new research by Taylor Nelson Sofres. Additionally, in Finland and Italy support for the use of mobile phone blocking technology is also high (72% in Finland and 73% in Italy). Both of these countries have high mobile phone penetration (over 80% of the population compared to around 60% in France).
Some European countries are currently debating whether such measures against mobile phone use should be employed. Yesterday the Irish Department of the Environment confirmed it plans to issue a statement in the near future banning drivers from using handheld mobile phones
Taylor Nelson Sofres found that younger people are least supportive of GSM jamming in public buildings and, hardly surprisingly, mobile phone users are less supportive of jamming than non-users.
Alain Imbert, director of TNS Telecoms said: “These relatively high levels of support for GSM jamming in certain types of public venues suggests that users and non-users alike feel that mobile phone usage can be intrusive and are keen to see measures taken to limit its impact. However this issue needs to be considered carefully, particularly the effect that any legislation may have on mobile operators at a time when they are facing increasing financial pressure.”
“Similarly, there are many technical questions that need to be addressed, for example how do you fine tune the jamming device to ensure that it doesn’t affect mobile usage outside or near to the building that is using it?” he added.
