Switzerland and some EU countries are prohibited from importing gsm jammers
Since January 1, 2018, Switzerland and some countries in the European Union have strictly prohibited the import and possession of gsm jammer.The operation of such systems must be approved in advance by OFCOM.For the most part, advertisements for such devices are deceptive: they give the impression that their use is legal without explicitly stating that even possession is illegal.
Jammers can be dangerous because they block all cell phone traffic, making emergency calls impossible.Another example is defusing explosives that can be detonated by radio.The use of jammers is strictly prohibited, as they not only inconvenience users of the radio spectrum and facilitate criminal activity, they also have serious security consequences.Regulations on these devices (also known as "interceptors" or "jammers") have tightened, as the ban previously only applied to putting them on the market and using them.FMG explicitly offers criminal agencies and police authorities the option of using jamming systems to prevent cell phone calls in their vicinity.They have gotten smaller, cheaper, and can now interfere with most of the spectrum.It's different in prison.
For some models, not only the mobile frequency band (GSM, UMTS, LTE.), but also the positioning system (GPS, Glonass, Galileo.), data transmission network (WLAN, RLAN, WiMax) or wireless The alarm system is disturbed.Utilization has also changed.This could also lead to serious problems for civil aviation, which is increasingly using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to improve navigation performance and air traffic control monitoring activities.
While these devices used to be used only to block cell phone calls on trains, restaurants or movie theaters, they are now also used in criminal activities: theft of cars or trucks carrying valuables (by disabling vehicle tracking), The law had to be tightened due to the spread of jammers: On January 1, 2018, when amendments to the Telecommunications Act (TCA) came into effect, the import and possession of jammers was prohibited.
Switzerland follows EU member states and other countries, such as the United States.In this way, emergency calls in the event of an accident or alerts by emergency services (eg fire brigade, police or ambulance) can be prevented.Previously expensive, bulky and limited to counteracting mobile phone traffic in the GSM 900 MHz band, jammers have followed the technology.Detainees use cell phones to organize criminal activities or plan escapes.