Brits To Commercialise Anti-Cellphone Wallpaper

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17440' target='_blank'>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17440</a><br /><br /></div><i>"They've been harping on about it for some time but a spin-off from the UK's defence department (Ministry of Defence) is claiming to be able to block mobile phone calls with wallpaper. Brit scientists @ QinetiQ in Farnborough, Hampshire claim they have developed a technique called 'frequency selective screening' (FSS) which will cut out the signals required by mobile phones, but permit other 'friendly' signals to enter. Putting a metal grid on something to block radio signals isn't new – it's used for microwave ovens, for example."</i><br /><br />Cool. We all knew that at some point they would find a way to block cell phones from being used in designated areas. I didn't expect a wallpaper solution, but that doesn't matter. :wink: I'm not 100% sold on the idea of blocking people from using their phones. Some people are on call 24-7 and would be expected to answer regardless of where they are. Of course these are the people that actually know when to put their phone on silent, and leave the room to answer it. However, this solution will totally stop them from receiving that call. There has to be a better solution...

[randalllewis]

I agree Mike, the people who need access to their phones either know enough to silence them and/or leave the room to talk---or, if really hip, have a Smartphone set to Automatic mode that shifts back and forth to silent mode for them. It is the clods who actually answer their phones and hold their conversations in the theater during the movie (this happened just last week) that this anti-phone wallpaper will be aimed at-- but the rest of us will suffer.

I'm really surprised no one has produced the wallpaper before now. It seems so logical given that even without anti-cellphone wallpaper simple modern metal building materials often blocked every bit of signal from my former service provider (ATT).

[Jonathon Watkins]

About time! (Just let it not be floral wallpaper!) :lol:

[Kris Kumar]

Why can't we have some kind of a Bluetooth Silence Detector profile or some other wireless mechanism to switch the phones into silent mode, when in zones where silence is to be observed. Now that would be cool.

The moment you enter the zone, the Bluetooth profile on the phone would get paired with the silencer, and force the phone into silent/vibrate mode.