The Savoy cinema in Dublin has dismantled a device it used to scramble mobile-phone signals, following an intervention by the Commission for Communications Regulation.
The Irish Times reported on Thursday in The Ticket supplement that the O'Connell Street cinema was using such equipment.
The same day, the commission informed the Savoy that possession and use of this equipment was a criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of €25,400 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months.
Yesterday the cinema dismantled the device and plans to dispose of it on Monday.
The Savoy had installed a device called a MobileBlocker to prevent people from making or receiving calls within the auditorium.
"What we had was a very low-powered device, which only affected the auditorium of the Savoy 1," said Mr Mark Anderson, operations manager of the Ward Anderson Group, which runs the Savoy complex.
"I thought the legal position was a lot more vague than it turned out to be."
Mr Anderson believes that mobile phones in cinemas are not just a nuisance, but a potential threat to public order, with the potential to create ugly confrontations between members of the audience.
Mr Niall McCaughey, Head of Spectrum Compliance at the Commission for Communications Regulation, says he has considerable sympathy with the plight of Mr Anderson and his patrons.
"I fully understand the point, and I concur with it," he says. "Unfortunately, though, it's still illegal."
This is the first time Mr McCaughey has been made aware of a mobile jammer operating in Ireland, although he suspects there may be others.
"We've been hearing about these sorts of things for three years or so now," he said.
"This is the first one I've seen here, although I've seen them offered for sale on a couple of Irish websites.
"But you may not put it on the market unless it complies with the regulations."
Mr Anderson said the Savoy imported the device from the US, where it is also illegal to operate it, but not to export it.
According to Mr McCaughey, the equipment breaches the 1926 Wireless Telegraphy Act, which requires a licence for any wireless broadcasting device and prohibits interference with any existing licensees.
It also contravenes EU directives on the sale or use of such equipment, and on blocking access to emergency services.
The MobileBlocker works by emitting a jamming signal on the same frequencies as the three mobile-phone operators, Vodafone, O2 and Meteor.
Mr Anderson believes that the peace and tranquillity of thousands of Dublin cinemagoers will now be disturbed again by the infuriating sounds of customised ring tones, bleeping message alerts and non-stop text tapping.
But Mr McCaughey holds out one slim hope of a solution to the problem. Since the bandwidth belongs to the three mobile-phone operators, they could agree to install "special cells" in specified venues. These would still allow access to emergency numbers, while blocking normal incoming and outgoing calls.
However, attempts to develop these systems in other European countries, such as the Netherlands, have met with little interest from phone companies, which stand to gain little from them.
Mr Anderson, however, is determined to fight on, and to "highlight the injustice of this situation".
Meanwhile, those thinking of going to a movie this weekend should take note of what's playing in Savoy 1. It's Colin Farrell in Phone Booth.
