2008-04-17 15:47:32 -
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Europe may be the world's most connected continent, but it's developing a real hang-up over the ubiquitous cell phone.
Taking a cue from France's national railway, which offers phone-free «zen zones» on high-speed trains, Austria's second-largest city this week began ordering public transit commuters to keep their phones on silent mode.
The
crackdown in the southern city of Graz has triggered a loud debate between advocates of free speech and people who say they're simply fed up with having to listen to annoying ring tones and intrusive cell phone chatter while riding a public bus or tram.
«I know I insulted the cell phone goddess a little,» Graz Mayor Siegfried Nagl said.
«But people need to know they don't have the right to be on the telephone permanently and constantly,» he told Austrian television. «It's just not healthy to never be able to get any peace and quiet.
Graz's response to the proliferation of cell phones reflects a growing backlash against their abuse across Europe, where mobiles and other portable communication devices outnumber people by a margin of 2-to-1 in many countries, according to the EU's statistics agency.
It comes just as the cacophony is about to get even more disruptive, and in a place where there's no escape: the sky.
Earlier this month, the European Union scrapped the longtime ban on the use of cell phones on flights, saying it resolved concerns about possible interference with navigational equipment.
Experts say the security risk will be minimized because the system will not connect in-flight phones directly to the ground. Instead, it will use an onboard base station to link up to a satellite and then to ground networks.
That paves the way for Europe-based airlines to launch on-board cellular service allowing travelers to chat in mid-air. Air France-KLM has already launched a trial.
In a pre-emptive move, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio this week introduced legislation aimed at ensuring Americans won't be subjected to one-sided chitchat at 30,000 feet (9,000 meters) _ even if U.S. carriers say it's safe.
In Europe, many national railways have created «quiet compartments» where cell phones are banned.
France's SNCF rail company, determined to spare travelers the nuisance of being forced to eavesdrop, says its «zen zones» _ set up in select compartments aboard high-speed intercity TGV trains _ are designed for «travel in a totally relaxing environment» by asking passengers to turn off their phones.
Denmark, Germany and Finland _ home to mobile phone giant Nokia Corp. _ offer similar sanctuaries.
But silencing chatterboxes isn't always easy.
Last May, Sweden's Stockholm Transport did away with «cell phone free zones» on subways, buses and commuter trains just 10 months after launching the spaces.
«It relied on people showing respect, but it didn't really work,» spokesman Bjorn Holmberg said: Too many passengers wanted to use their commute to catch up on work calls, and some just felt safer with cell phones in hand.
In Graz, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of Vienna, officials concede the new ban is purely voluntary, and say transit police won't be conducting inspections or handing out tickets.
Bus and streetcar commuters are still allowed to tap out cell phone text messages, or use their laptops to make wireless connections to the Internet.
Recent polls suggest two in three Austrians support the idea of getting cell phones under control in public places. Officials in Linz, the country's No. 3 city, are also considering transit restrictions, and some are even calling for a crackdown on personal cell phone use at the office.
«I don't really understand what all the fuss is about,» said commuter Erich Matthes. «Who or what is so important that you can't stay off your cell phone for half an hour? Must one really be reachable everywhere at all times
Josef Kalina, a senior official with Austria's governing Social Democratic Party, dismissed the Graz ring tone ban as «a completely anachronistic idea.
«You really have to wonder what the politicians will think of next,» he said. «How about a total ban on freedom of speech in the public transit system? Using the law to regulate communication between human beings should be rejected as absurd.
Nagl, the mayor, said he's glad to hear people talking about the issue _ just not on their mobiles.
«I'm pleased to have triggered this enormous debate,» he said.
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm, Sweden, contributed to this report.
