Curious - Cell Phone Jammers

[Steve Meliza]

I have rarely been paid by the hour and I've been working since I was 12, it's almost always been based on productivity or salary. When pay is based on productivity that meets product quality standards and deducted for products that do not you get people that are very motivated to work quickly and with quality. At my current salary job I have a base pay then bonuses based on company profitability and customer satisfaction. My boss could care less how much time I spend on the cell phone or typing up this post while on the computer at work, because all he cares about is if I get the job done on time and to his satisfaction (I just got a pay raise so I must be doing ok).

Maybe a little positive motivation or recognition for your high performers would help encourage the slackers. If not, get rid of the boys and hire men. Best wishes on solving your issue, you sound like reasonable folk.

[Steve Meliza]

where the #%%@ do i sign up to work at $20 an hour?

Why bother going to college if you can't get a job for at least that much if not more when you graduate?

[Belinda Barfield]

Why bother going to college if you can't get a job for at least that much if not more when you graduate?

Interestingly enough 2 of my highest paid employees didn't even finish high school.

I'm currently on eternal landline hold by the way, so thought I'd stop in. There is a landline extension in the employee's kitchen, and a private office extension if they need it.

[curtis rosche]

Why bother going to college if you can't get a job for at least that much if not more when you graduate?

you would be suprised how hard it is to find a job above $10 an hour around here with only two years of college down and planning on going back in the fall. alot of places love my application, tell me its perfect exactly what they are looking for. but when i tell them im going back to school in the fall they all back away and say it was nice to meet you but we wont be calling you. i had one company ask me if i could be a full time student and work third shift 7 days a week. no way that would be sustainable

[Mike Cutler]

Mike and John

I re-read my post and saw that it lacked compassion, and that was not the intent when I referred to emergencies.
There will always be emergency situations that arise, and being on an organ transplant list, and having a family member with a known chronic condition will always fall into that category.
I work in a nuclear power plant, and believe me that once you leave the office/admin areas and enter the plants, cell phones do not work. 3'-6' thick concrete walls, with the miles of rebar and metal linings make it impossible to get a cell signal from outside without repeaters. In addition every cell phone carrier frequency would have to be analyzed for stray interference with plant equipment, so the engineering review would take forever to get the clearance.
We have handled situations exactly as you both describe, and some equally as critical, by issuing company cell phones and beepers, that work on our private WIFI, and intranet, to people that have situational emergencies involving family members that require prompt action.We've even hooked up to heart monitors that report 24/7, via WIFI, to cardiac care facilities to our system for folks that have had heart surgeries and are reporting to back to work after long FMLA abscenses.
Apologies if I appeared insensitive. it was not my intent.

[John C Lawson]

Mike and John

I re-read my post and saw that it lacked compassion, and that was not the intent when I referred to emergencies.
There will always be emergency situations that arise, and being on an organ transplant list, and having a family member with a known chronic condition will always fall into that category.
I work in a nuclear power plant, and believe me that once you leave the office/admin areas and enter the plants, cell phones do not work. 3'-6' thick concrete walls, with the miles of rebar and metal linings make it impossible to get a cell signal from outside without repeaters. In addition every cell phone carrier frequency would have to be analyzed for stray interference with plant equipment, so the engineering review would take forever to get the clearance.
We have handled situations exactly as you both describe, and some equally as critical, by issuing company cell phones and beepers, that work on our private WIFI, and intranet, to people that have situational emergencies involving family members that require prompt action.We've even hooked up to heart monitors that report 24/7, via WIFI, to cardiac care facilities to our system for folks that have had heart surgeries and are reporting to back to work after long FMLA abscenses.
Apologies if I appeared insensitive. it was not my intent.

No problem, Mike. Perhaps I was a little overly "forthright" myself. And Belinda seems to have acheived a reasonable resolution to her issue also.

[Scott T Smith]

In answer to Belinda's original question, yes cell phone jammers are VERY illegal, as well as harmful to public security in general.

Cell phones operate over several different spectrum bands, depending upon their underlying technology as well as the frequencies that they are licensed to operate on. In some instances, public safety (including local and state police, fire, as well as various Federal Agencies) operate on frequencies that are either adjacent to, or near the same spectrum as used by the cellular carriers.

In order to jam a signal, you have to generate a similar, but more powerful signal on or near the same frequency. Thus, the jammers will not only jam the cellular carriers spectrum, they may also jam the local police or fire departments spectrum as well.

The use of radio spectrum is closely managed by the FCC. Certain frequency ranges are made available for public use (think CB radio, spread spectrum home wireless phones, etc), but almost all of the spectrum is controlled by the FCC and licensed to specific users, in specific bands, and for specific purposes. Jammers basically are an unlicensed radio transmitter.

Think of the liability that would be incurred if an emergency occured within your facility, and first responders could not communicate with themselves or their dispatchers when they needed additional support. This is not a position that you want to place yourself in - especially if someone gets hurt as a result.

Bottom line - it is best to handle this situation via HR Policy.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike and John

I re-read my post and saw that it lacked compassion, and that was not the intent when I referred to emergencies.
There will always be emergency situations that arise, and being on an organ transplant list, and having a family member with a known chronic condition will always fall into that category.
I work in a nuclear power plant, and believe me that once you leave the office/admin areas and enter the plants, cell phones do not work. 3'-6' thick concrete walls, with the miles of rebar and metal linings make it impossible to get a cell signal from outside without repeaters. In addition every cell phone carrier frequency would have to be analyzed for stray interference with plant equipment, so the engineering review would take forever to get the clearance.
We have handled situations exactly as you both describe, and some equally as critical, by issuing company cell phones and beepers, that work on our private WIFI, and intranet, to people that have situational emergencies involving family members that require prompt action.We've even hooked up to heart monitors that report 24/7, via WIFI, to cardiac care facilities to our system for folks that have had heart surgeries and are reporting to back to work after long FMLA abscenses.
Apologies if I appeared insensitive. it was not my intent.

No offense taken, Mike. But once you experience a situation such as having a loved one on a transplant list, you come to appreciate being able to be contacted any time.

But for work related stuff I was not so appreciative of being on a digital leash. Like many things in life, there's good and bad in all of it.

Mike

[Greg Portland]

P.S. it annoys me when the powers that be tell me what I can and can't do in my business on private property.

You would be stealing from other companies. They have purchased the right to use that bandwidth... any device that you install is considered stealing that bandwidth (just like pirate radio, etc.).

Having said that, there is nothing illegal about taking passive measures. For example, you could turn your building into a giant Faraday cage. Since you already have metal siding and a metal roof your should just need to beef up the building's connection to ground (multiple ground rods, 7-8ft deep, tied into the building's siding). Ensure that all the metal panels are electrically tied to each other. Any large holes will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the cage.

[Belinda Barfield]

You would be stealing from other companies. They have purchased the right to use that bandwidth... any device that you install is considered stealing that bandwidth (just like pirate radio, etc.).

To all who have responded to my P.S. comment, understand that I have no idea how jammers actually work, so please forgive my stupidity.

[Jason Roehl]

To all who have responded to my P.S. comment, understand that I have no idea how jammers actually work, so please forgive my stupidity.

Belinda, that's not stupidity, it's ignorance--which you have now shed by asking the question and having it answered. Ignorance is fixed by learning. Stupid can't be fixed.

Being a self-employed contractor, I make/take calls all day long. I've taken to ignoring any whose number I don't recognize--those can go to voicemail. Otherwise, some days I wouldn't get anything done. Another (very successful) contractor once told me that he has an employee who has been like a member of the family for over 20 years, and if he caught that employee on the phone during work hours, he'd only get one warning.

I'm with some of the others--get tough on the clock, but break time is their time. Emergencies can go through your front office, who can determine if it's truly an emergency or not.

[Belinda Barfield]

I'm with some of the others--get tough on the clock, but break time is their time. Emergencies can go through your front office, who can determine if it's truly an emergency or not.

Agreed, break time and lunch I don't care what they do as long a they can pass a random drug or alcohol screen. I decided that having emergency calls come only through the office could at some point lead to an issue of liability. Missed call, mom can't tell ER doc that child is allergic to penicillin, child dies. They can take their own emergency calls and the office line is the back up.

[Eric DeSilva]

I realize the issue is sort of over--and I commend Belinda's solution--but in case others stumble upon the thread...

Scott provided a good synopsis, but to be explicit about an issue he is raising implicitly--just as your building doesn't stop radio signals from coming in, it won't stop radio signals--including jammers--from going out. That means you may be jamming communications from people in public areas outside your building or property. Radio waves behave in strange ways and may propagate to places you haven't imagined--while your employees might even consent as part of their employment contract to be subject to jamming, third parties driving (or flying) by--including police, fire and ambulance services--have not. And, yes, while many places have natural properties restricting the availability of mobile communications, those dependent upon radio can take notice of that and make appropriate adjustments to their behavior--"look, my mobile is showing no signal, time to move to an area with coverage" or "I'll let the dispatcher know I'm offline." It is entirely different to have someone believe they have coverage when they do not.

[Brian Elfert]

Agreed, break time and lunch I don't care what they do as long a they can pass a random drug or alcohol screen. I decided that having emergency calls come only through the office could at some point lead to an issue of liability. Missed call, mom can't tell ER doc that child is allergic to penicillin, child dies. They can take their own emergency calls and the office line is the back up.

I don't see how your office would be any more liable for emergency communications than you would have been before cell phones. In the old days your office phone was the only way for someone to get an emergency call.

[Scott Shepherd]

Let's not confuse the issue. An organ transplant situation is not the same as someone that wants to know if you want to grab a beer later. I've worked with people that had family members on the transplant list. They made it public and everyone in the building knew the situation and knew it was a top priority situation.

If anyone is expecting a text message for a transplant list, they aren't too smart. Text messages are NOT 100%. I've had dozens and dozens of texts not reach someone and I've not gotten many a text message people have sent. I had one last week. The guy was in the room next to me and was talking to a customer. I had some important information to get to him, privately for what he was talking about. I texted it to him and listened for his phone to indicate he got the message. It never rang. I called him aside, told him in person, and he pulled his phone out and there was no message from me. I resent it while I was standing there, it never came through. I've had that happen many times.

So it your argument is that people on transplant lists need text messaging, my message would be that they need a phone, not a text message.

I would never ever, ever, ever text message time sensitive, health related messages to anyone. That's just irresponsible.

There's also a very large part of West Virginia that's a radio free zone, so they don't have service. Look it up on google. Look up the Green Bank area and the satellites they have there. No cell towers around. I guess some of you can't travel there because of that. Cell phones are a privilege, not a right.
People know where you work. If they need you, they are free to call your place of work.

It's a place of business, not a social club.