What has sparked the sudden surge of interest in cell phone jammers among individuals?

Curry Mildred 2022/07/18

So, why was Google lighting up Monday with people searching for them? You can thank a guy in Philadelphia who got fed up with folks yakking during his daily bus ride and a local news reporter who happens to ride the same bus.

Days after the story broke on Friday, the apparently fresh interest in the devices, which can be had online for anywhere from less than $100 to more than $1,000, is cause for concern among some security experts.

Philadelphia TV station NBC10 reported on a man who admitted to using a cell-phone jammer during his bus commute to shut down fellow passengers when they were talking loudly.

“I guess I’m taking the law into my own hands, and quite frankly, I’m proud of it,” said the man, who the station identified only as “Eric.”

He called people using their phones on public buses irritating and rude.

“A lot of people are extremely loud, no sense of, just, privacy or anything,” said “Eric,” who was first noticed by a writer for the station. “When it becomes a bother, that’s when I screw on the antenna and flip the switch.”

The story spread. And, apparently, piqued people’s interest.

Throughout the weekend, and as recently as Monday afternoon, “cell phone jammer” was one of the top 10 searches on Google .

But even someone looking to do no more than hush an annoying neighbor on the bus could do some harm.

For example, in the Philadelphia case, GPS jammers could have cut off the bus driver’s communication with a dispatcher who was trying to communicate emergency or traffic information. And that’s not to mention other folks in the area (aside from the offensive loud talkers) who may have missed potentially important phone calls.

In layman’s terms, they basically just interrupt the signals in the area. They are a louder signal, if you will, than anything else in the area. As a phone tries to connect to a tower, it can’t because there’s this other noise, if you will, in the way.