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Philadelphia man jams cellphones on public transportation [VIDEO]

Alex Myers Contributor
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Frustrated by noise pollution during his morning bus ride, a Philadelphia man decided to use a cellphone jammer to block other commuters’ calls as he made his way to work during the past several weeks.

Cellphone jammers, which typically cost $1000, can block signals in a room the size of a movie theater, ABC News reported in August. The devices are illegal in the United States.

An undercover reporter for local Philadelphia news station NBC10 recently boarded a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus with a hidden camera and observed the man, who calls himself Eric, jamming calls.

“He’s blatantly holding this device that looks like a walkie-talkie with four very thick antennae,” an unidentified employee of the news station said. “I started to watch him and any time somebody started talking on the phone, he would start pressing the button on the side of the device.”

Eric was unapologetic about his behavior, even though he promised to dispose of the jammer.

“I guess I’m taking the law into my own hands and, quite frankly, I’m proud of it,” Eric said. He claimed to be unaware that using the jammer is illegal, calling the issue a “grey area.”

Still, SEPTA commuters welcomed the news that Eric plans to stop jamming their calls.

“How dare you decide that I can’t speak to somebody or that I can’t use my cell phone?” one rider asked.

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