John Fithian, head of the National Association of Theater Owners, says the trade group plans to petition the FCC for permission to block cellphone signals inside movie theaters.
That would require changing an existing regulation, he added. But some theaters are already testing a no-cellphones policy, asking patrons to check their phones at the theater door.
A spokesman for a cellphone lobby said the group would object to any regulatory change. “We’re opposed to the use of any blocking technology, because it interferes with people’s ability to use a wireless device in an emergency situation,” said Joseph Farren, a spokesman for CTIA-the Wireless Association, based in Washington.
After that, NATO will ask the FCC for spectrum waivers on memory-zapping laser bombs that make audiences forget how crappy the movies were.