While reports that some tow truck operators are using cellular network jammers at traffic accidents state that this is illegal, the law does not prescribe any fine or sanction, lawyers say.
News Web site Independent Online reported that some tow truck operators were jamming cellular network signals at accident scenes. Andre van der Merwe, chairman of industry body the SA Towing and Recovery Association, also admitted to this.
Cellular network jammers have gained some prominence during the past eight years, following the US invasion of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, as insurgency groups in those two countries used GSM signals and phones to detonate roadside bombs. The development of cellular network jammers to counteract this tactic has spurred a new industry on its own.
“Network jammers were originally developed with a specific military purpose in mind. However, applications have been found in other instances that could be perfectly legitimate,” a defence electronics industry source says.
An example would be to install them at prisons to limit dangerous criminals' attempts at smuggling in cellphones and then using them illicitly, the source says.
He says some of these jammers are based on those developed for the military, but ones that are somewhat less sophisticated are available through normal commercial channels. These would be the ones used by the tow truck operators.
However, exactly what law applies and what the sanction is for using jammers is not clear.
Not ICASA's baby
Dominic Cull, a lawyer with Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says it seems this issue does not fall within the telecommunications regulator ICASA's jurisdiction, as its focus is on licensed entities only.
“One can reasonably assume that tow truck operators using jamming equipment would be doing it for nefarious intent and they would have to transmit a jamming signal on the 900Ghz and 1 800Ghz spectrums that are licensed,” he says.
Cull says Section 30 of the ECA specifically prohibits transmitting on those frequencies without a licence and Section 7 of that law prohibits an unlicensed service being offered.
“So it seems that one would have to lay a criminal charge with the police, but the problem is that no sanction is prescribed in the law,” he says.
Mike Silber, another lawyer with Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says some years ago ICASA did hold hearings into jammers and decided it was “unlawful”.
“Unfortunately the documentation is not readily available,” he says.
Report to police
Dot Field, the chief communications operator for network operator Vodacom, says the use of any such “signal jamming” device is a contravention under the Interception and Monitoring Act.
“In addition, the use of such devices is against Vodacom's licence agreement, which gives Vodacom exclusive rights to spectrum. If any devices of this nature are being used by any group or person it needs to be reported to the South African Police Service or a law enforcement agency, which have the authority to investigate such matters,” she says.
The Regulations for the Interception and Monitoring of Information Act (Rica) may also cover jamming as it is “intercepting” a cellular signal, however, lawyers say this idea has not been tested yet.
Dene Smuts, communications spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance and a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, says: “If there is a lecuna (a legal gap) then it must be filled immediately by amending the ECA.”
How should cellphone jamming be prevented?
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