Australia’s largest telecommunications companies have warned the newly elected Minns government against using phone-jamming technology in schools after the idea was canvassed as a way to ban mobile use among students.
Telco firms said such technology, which has been used in NSW prisons, could disrupt services to nearby homes and businesses and block vital communications between students and parents.
Banning students’ use of mobile phones at public high schools was one of the key promises made by NSW Labor in the leadup to the March 25 state election.Credit:Joe Armao
The telecommunications regulator received a proposal late last year from mobile-blocking technology company Educell to trial the use of a “set-and-forget system” that allows schools to restrict mobile coverage, preventing students from using social media and sending and receiving calls and texts.
Educell’s technology is supported by at least two private school principals at Reddam House and Arndell Anglican College.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said the government was considering whether the technology would be feasible as a way for schools to implement the ban.
“We will be looking at a range of options available to implement the ban on mobile phones in schools to determine what is feasible in school settings,” Car said. “We will look closely at other states like Victoria and South Australia who have implemented phone restrictions with success.
“Schools will be able to decide how to implement the ban in their local circumstances.”
Banning students’ use of mobile phones in all public high schools was one of the key promises made by NSW Labor before the state election. Premier Chris Minns has previously said a blanket policy for restricting phones would create a level playing field at all schools, but did not say how this would be achieved.
Reddam House principal Dave Pitcairn said phones were banned at his school and were confiscated if students were caught with them. “Phones are a massive problem and many children are addicted to them and the social media that comes with that,” he said.
Pitcairn, who supports the Educell proposal, said distractions caused by mobile phones were a big enough problem to support measures that could block their use entirely. “If schools went down the route of phone jamming, parents would still be able to communicate with children directly with the school. Any jamming technology should be able to be deactivated when needed for appropriate educational needs,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car after being sworn in.Credit:AAP
TPG Telecom’s head of external communications Mitchell Bingemann said caution was needed. “The safe and responsible use of mobile phones on school grounds requires a considered solution, not a sledgehammer,” he said. “Mobile jammers can unintentionally disrupt mobile services to nearby homes and businesses, and in a worst-case scenario, block vital communications between students and families in emergencies.”
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the Australian Communications and Media Authority – which determines which jammers can legally operate – had received Educell’s proposal and was asking for additional technical information.
Sources familiar with Educell’s pitch, who weren’t authorised to speak publicly, said controversial former NSW senator Sam Dastyari was also involved, though it was unclear in which capacity. Neither Educell director Andrew Mednick nor Dastyari responded to requests for comment before deadline.
Louise Hyland, chief executive of the Australian Mobile and Telecommunications Association (AMTA, which represents Telstra, TPG and Optus), said managing mobile phone use in schools was important but urged caution against the use of “heavy-handed technology”.
“Any technology which disrupts the bands over which mobile base-stations transmit … is likely to also impact legitimate users adjacent to schools and in the surrounding community, as well as compromise important mobile-based services,” she said.
A Telstra spokesperson said it supported AMTA’s position.
The issue of phone use in schools has been the topic of fierce debate for years, and has escalated as teachers navigate increasingly difficult student behaviour and deal with the distractions of screens in classrooms. Some teachers and principals have argued that students should be taught to use their phones responsibly.
In NSW, mobiles are banned in primary schools, but secondary schools have had the flexibility to decide if students use them during class or in the playground.
Principal of Arndell Anglican College Gareth Leechman said from the beginning of this year the school had introduced a policy of restricting mobile use.
“Mobiles need to be switched off and kept in lockers or in their bag. We’ve had a huge amount of support from parents,” he said.
Leechman said Educell had approached senior staff about whether phone-blocking technology would be something the school would consider.
“We would look at the option of phone jamming if we felt it gave us the opportunity for better outcomes. It’s something that could give schools greater confidence that students wouldn’t be using phones inappropriately and that temptation would be taken away from students.”
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