Church’s Jam Session Is Directed at Cellphones

It was the reporters who noticed first. Unable to call their editors while covering the weddings of the rich and famous, they asked the priest why their cellphones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counterintelligence.

In four Monterrey churches, Israeli-made cellphone jammers the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints.

The jarring polychromatic din of ringing cellphones is increasingly being thwarted -- from religious sanctuaries to India’s parliament to Tokyo theaters and commuter trains -- by devices originally developed to help security forces avert eavesdropping and thwart phone-triggered bombings.

The Indian parliament had jammers installed after politicians ignored requests to turn off their cellphones and legislative sessions were constantly interrupted.

In Italy, universities started using the blockers after discovering that cellphone-savvy teenagers were cheating on exams by sending text messages or taking pictures of tests.

The four Roman Catholic Churches in this northern city began using the devices, from Tel Aviv-based Netline Communications Technologies Ltd., after an insurance salesman imported them as a personal favor for a priest.

“There are still many people who don’t understand that being at Mass is sharing a moment with God,” said the Rev. Juan Jose Martinez, a spokesman for the archdiocese. “Sadly, we had no other choice but to use these little gadgets.”

Purchased for about $2,000 each, they can be turned on by remote control and emit low-level radio frequencies that thwart cellphone signals within a 100-foot radius.

Users get a “no service” or “signal not available” message on their cellphones.

Although Mexico has no law against the devices, the private use of cellphone blockers is illegal in the United States and most Western countries.

But the tide may be turning.

Japan allows public places such as theaters and concert halls to install jammers, provided they obtain a government-issued license. And this month, France’s industry minister approved a decision to let cinemas, concert halls and theaters install them -- as long as provisions are in place so emergency calls can still be made.

Canada had considered allowing blocking in similar situations. But Industry Canada, which regulates the country’s telecommunications, decided against it, saying the devices could infringe on personal freedom and affect public safety by crippling communication with law enforcement and security agencies.

Officials at Netline, which sold its first jammer in 1998, say they are selling thousands of the devices a year and have expanded their business throughout the world.

They’re far from the only manufacturers. The devices are sold the world over, with dozens of suppliers selling them on the Internet.

Tokyo-based Medic Inc. sold thousands of its Wave Wall jammers before the government stepped in and regulated their use to venues with live performances. Commuters still buy mobile jammers to shut up chatty train passengers, even though their use is illegal.

In Scotland, businessman Ronnie McGuire, owner of Electron Electrical Engineering Services, imported Taiwan-made cellphone blockers and sold them to hotels, restaurants and bars until a local newspaper reported his activities, which were illegal in Britain.

McGuire has said he will still import the Taiwanese devices but will sell them for export only to countries where they are allowed.

Loreen Haim, the director of marketing and sales for Netline, wouldn’t say how many devices the company sells per year or what country buys the most.

In Mexico, the main clients have been banks looking to stop would-be robbers from communicating with their accomplices and the Mexican government, which is planning to use them at prisons, Haim said.

In Monterrey, the Sacred Heart church, a baroque temple favored by Mexico’s elite for weddings, church officials acquired their blockers two years ago.

“Whenever there was a wedding, cellphones would ring every five minutes,” said Bulmaro Carranza, a parish clerk. “It was a real problem because there were times when even the groom would forget to turn his cellphone off.”

For months, the jammers went unnoticed until reporters covering the weddings began complaining that their cellphones never worked.

Since word of the devices went public, priests from around Mexico have been calling to find out how to get them, said Carranza.

At Sacred Heart, a jammer at the entrance to the church and another by the altar are turned on right before every Mass. Still, priests remind parishioners to turn off their phones before beginning the services, hoping good cellphone etiquette will eventually catch on.

The other Monterrey churches with the devices -- The Rosario, San Juan Bosco and Our Lady Queen of the Angels -- are also frequented by wealthier parishioners, Martinez said.

Margarita Escobedo, a Catholic who goes to church at least twice a week and volunteers at the San Genaro church, says she would welcome the jammers in her parish, where cellphones are becoming a nuisance.

“Those who bring cellphones to church are not committed to God,” Escobedo said. “It’s very distracting to be praying and suddenly hear birds chirping or techno music.”

AP writers Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo and Kate Brumback in Paris contributed to this report.