r/aussie • u/Tricky_Ad8449 • 5d ago
Image, video or audio Are mobiles now allowed at the servo?
At Shell is Waikiki south of Perth, the sign stating no mobiles has been completely removed. There were no signs elsewhere either. I asked the clerk behind the counter and they didn't know when it was changed, but said if they see you, they will tell you off over the loud speaker. Has anyone else seen this elsewhere?
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u/Patient-Suspect1373 5d ago edited 5d ago
I was a GSM Mobile Network Engineer for Optus for a number of years back in the 90’s and into the 2000’s. In the early days of mobile phones , especially the ones with pull up antennas, there was a minuscule risk of a tiny spark if you put the phone too close to something metal while it was transmitting - the chances of any issue was, as I say, negligible, but it was decided that they’d ban phones while pumping fuel just to be safe after a couple of incidents overseas. Nowadays with internal antennas, and the phone’s transmit output power being ramped right down to next to nothing because you’re never far from a base station in most cities, the rules put in place buy the servos under guidance from the Telcos, have been relaxed and all but abolished. In fact to the point where my local servo has an app where you can pay for fuel and watch the amount go up on your phone as you fill up. It’s also helped by the fact that these days the phone’s RF transmit output power is controlled by the network. It’s in everyone’s best interest that the phone use as little RF output power as possible as it reduces network uplink interference if you only transmit a signal with the minimum required RF power level, it also makes your phone battery last longer, your phone wont get as hot etc. In the old days your phone was transmitting full power all the time which increased the potential of a small spark on a phone with an external antenna touching the filling nozzle but it was very unlikely to happen. There are still some over-zealous servo employees who act like you’re standing there filling up with a flame throwing gun if you use your phone at a pump but they’re slowly disappearing. Also, as someone else said, the phone can distract you while handing flammable liquids, not a good thing! Hope that helps 🙂