Trying to compare prices online at an electronic discount store and losing your cell signal? You may have encountered a tree branch equipped with a signal jammers.
Today, almost everyone has an internet-connected phone that can be configured with apps. Apps such as Idealo's Android and iOS price comparison are particularly useful helpers: you'll soon know if a product with a sale label on the shelf is really a sale. Competition is fierce, and it's no surprise that this type of mobile price comparison has annoyed a certain electronic discounter. According to private broadcaster RTL, the corresponding information is available.
Use wifi jammer to counter bargainers
An unnamed sales manager at an electronics chain described the method to the broadcaster:
According to it, an arts and crafts company visited the affected branch under the guise of checking the camera system. In fact, the company installed as many as five jammers in the exhibition area. Customers and executives didn't seem to care that it was illegal. Putting jammers into service requires approval from the Federal Network Administration. According to the sales manager, orders come from "above" and individual markets have no say.
In response to a request, Media Markt announced that its branches did not use any jammers. The electronics retailer knows local customers are using their smartphones to compare prices and rise to the challenge. However, Media Markt explained that due to the structure of the building, the possibility of dead corners or limited mobile reception cannot be completely ruled out.
