An advisory has been issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) cautioning against the utilization of cellular signal jammers, GPS blockers, or other signal jamming devices by members of the public, as it is considered unlawful unless expressly approved by the government.

On July 1, the DoT issued a memorandum of public importance, clarifying that the government-approved jammers are exclusively available for procurement and usage by states, union territories, defense forces, and central police organizations.

According to the advisory, private sector organizations and individuals in the private sector are not allowed to acquire or operate jammers in India.

Authorized vendors provide jammers that can be utilized by examination conducting bodies under the union/state government or union territories, subject to approval from the competent authority.

Moreover, the DoT has affirmed that the advertising, selling, distribution, importation, or any other form of marketing of jammers in India is prohibited, unless authorized by official government directives.

In addition to jammers, the use of mobile signal repeaters and boosters by individuals has been deemed unlawful by the Department of Transportation (DoT). A memo issued by the DoT highlights that the unauthorized use of repeaters can have detrimental effects on public telecommunication services, as it can interfere with and disrupt the quality and coverage of such services.

The DoT had previously issued a firm warning to various e-commerce companies, including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Alibaba, Aliexpress, Ebay, and others, about their role in facilitating the sale of wireless jammer back in January.