Telecom and Vodafone have joined forces with the Corrections Department to help stamp out illegal calls between the inmates of Her Majesty’s Prisons and the outside world of crime, using technology that jams their smuggled (and rather aptly-named) cellphones. Hawke’s Bay Prison has been earmarked as one of the first to get jammed.

One must wonder why, with all the technology about, this hasn’t been tried before?

And why stop here? There are many places where jamming technology could be used. In schools and universities, exam cheating is carried out by students texting or using their cellphone’s photographic ability. “Text Bullies” could also be discouraged if their phones were jammed in the school grounds.

How many times have you been to a funeral or wedding where the celebrant outlines in the house rules “to turn off cellphones now, before the service” – and then later the shrill, upbeat ring or loud music from a cellphone signifies someone wasn’t listening, or thought themselves greater than the occasion?

At the movies, there is nothing more distracting from what’s on the screen than the sound of a cellphone ringing at a crucial part of the action, or the distracting blue light from another inconsiderate patron taking a photo of the on-screen action and sending it out, to who knows where (and who cares?).

Meetings would run more smoothly if participants’ cellphones were jammed during the business part. Do they really think they are so important that they and everyone else can be interrupted during a meeting?

Last but not least, do we really want to hear the vulgarians talking loudly to their friends over that intrusive device, the cellphone, stuck firmly to their ear, while we’re trying to enjoy a quiet café coffee or a restaurant meal? I don’t think so.

(By Chris Geddis, from his original idea published in Hawke’s Bay Today)