Stand by, as this will be something of a rant.
I recently spent time in hospitals with ailing relatives. Considerable time with one. Virtually the first sign you seen on entering a hospital is the one banning cell phone usage. Airlines are no better.
Why? If you ask, they'll tell you it's because cell phones interfere with the equipment, whether it's lifesaving medical gear or essential avionics.
Okay, people, this is the 21st century, cellphones have been common for almost 20 years now. In fact, in the western world, they're virtually considered essential. Many people have even done away with their land lines altogether! Why have you not hardened your gear to prevent such interference, or redesigned it such that cell signals do not affect the equipment? It's blatantly obvious, and has been for a good 10 years now, that cell phones are becoming more common, not less common. There is no excuse for continuing to insist that we shut off our communication with our friends and families. As a matter of fact, in a hospital is a time when people most need to communicate with loved ones! I have to say, as soon as people find out someone's in the hospital, they want to know the details immediately. Cutting off our cell phones is probably the worst customer service you can provide.
To add insult to injury, hospital staff run around with what appear to be cell phones. They might utilize some other technology, I have not inquired, but it rubs salt in the wound when it appears you get to use cell phones, but we don't. Is it a control issue?
I could see when cell phones were new and bulky and used huge amounts of power to send and receive usable analog signals back in the early 1990's, before medical device manufacturers and aircraft manufacturers had had a chance to study the issue and make adjustments to prevent unwanted interference, maybe banning the cell phones was necessary. But that was almost 20 years ago, and cell phones now use a tiny fraction of the power they required back then. Seriously, how much interference are they causing?
Start working immediately to harden your equipment against cell phone signals. I guarantee you, cell phones are only going to become more common, and your customers are only going to expect to use them everywhere, and to resent your bans. Do your customers a service and fix the problem now.
