You can't use that here!

There are places where the use of mobiles is banned. Sometimes there is very good reason for this.

Aircraft

You are not allowed to use a mobile phone in an aircraft. There have been claims that mobile phone use has affected flight controls or navigation systems.

Some people dispute that the risk is a real one, but the consequences of any difficulties are rather serious, and your phone probably wouldn't work anyway, because of the screening effect of the aircraft body and the height and speed you are travelling at.

Hospitals

Some hospitals impose a blanket ban on the use of mobile phones, despite Department of Health advice not to do this. It might be cynical to suspect that these blanket bans have more to do with the considerable revenue that hospital payphones generate than any safety consideration, particularly when porters all seem to use two-way radios, and most hospitals have mobile phone base stations on the roof.

It is fair to say that certain medical equipment could be affected by a mobile phone being used very close by, and in such circumstances, a ban in that area is right and proper. It is also worth considering that you may not know what is on the other side of the wall you are next to in a hospital, so there could be a radio-sensitive device closer than you think.

Filling stations

The regulations about petrol stations require that forecourt staff do not permit the use of mobile telephones on the forecourt. They have no obligation to prevent the use, and it is not an offence to use one, but they must not allow it.

In the days when the regulations were written, car phones were very high-powered and quite rare. The powers used meant that there was a real risk of sparks from them in some circumstances.

Nowadays, the output power of a mobile phone is far lower, and the risk of an explosion caused by the signal is no longer a likely factor. There is some chance that signals could affect the metering systems used on forecourts, but this is extremely unlikely.

Some would argue that any risk is too much to take, but in this case the regulations are self-defeating. By switching your mobile phone off, you are ensuring that it transmits a "log-off" signal to the network, whereas if you left it on, the chances are that it would not transmit whilst you were there. Despite every phone doing this logging-off when the driver has pulled onto the forecourt, there seem to be no reports of problems as a result.

One suggestion is that the risk is from possible sparks caused by dropping a handset, detaching the battery. However unlikely, this is a possibility. However, if there is a risk from such sparks, what about the risk from the showers of sparks from starter motors and alternators of car engines?

There have been posters and articles alleging that mobiles have caused explosions at filling stations, but when these have been investigated, each has proved to be untrue.

The law is clear, however. Filling station operators are not allowed to permit the use of mobile telephones on their forecourts, so please save the operator's blushes, and don't use them there.

Security establishments

Mobile phones may be banned for non-technical reasons, perhaps because the authorities do not want people to have ready access to communication. Prisons and in certain immigration and customs facilities are good examples of such places.

Preventing mobile use

It is illegal to install or use jamming devices that prevent mobile phones from being used, and very few organisations are silly enough to break the law and do so.

It is, however, legal to screen buildings so that mobile phones won't work. In fact, the solar control film used in some building does this very well. Virgin trains have discovered this problem on their latest rolling stock, where combined with interference from the train's motors, it is hard to make or receive a call, even though Virgin provide sockets to plug your phone's charger into!

Inappropriate mobile use

There are plenty of places where using mobiles is inappropriate, although not illegal or specifically barred. See the Not Here page for more information.

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