A device for blocking mobile phone signals, the T-Box 3.0 has been developed by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center and is in use by Thailand’s national security forces. Mobile phones are used by terrorists to detonate explosives, constituting a danger to life and property, and the Prime Minister’s Council for National Security
requested that NSTDA develop and produce a blocking device. NECTEC researchers went to work and 35 units of the T-Box 1.0b were put into the field in 2003.
Development has continued and today 88 units of the enhanced 15 watt T-Box 3.0 have been put into the hands of security forces at a cost of about 42 million THB (1.2 million USD).
With a power of 15 watts at 800, 900, 1800, and 2100 MHz and a range of 100 meters, the T-Box 3.0 can block all mobile phone frequencies in use in Thailand. It accepts many different power systems and the battery can be recharged from a motor vehicle. It has a good heat dissipation system, is water resistant and impact tolerant, and has a use-life of five years. Security forces use the device to clear the area of mobile phone-detonated explosive devices before any damage is done.
The T-Box 3.0 has been distributed to both military and border police units in the southernmost three provinces to increase the effectiveness and bolster the morale of security forces on risky assignments. Use of the T-Box saves lives and property, with estimated savings in the use of expensive military equipment, medical treatment of the injured, and property losses, both public and private, totaling as much as 2.3 billion THB (66 million USD). The T-Box 3.0 earned the 2009 Best Invention Award in Science, Technology and Industry from the National Research Council of Thailand.