Austrian City Orders Commuters to Keep Cell Phones on Silent Mode
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Europe may be the world's most connected continent, but it is developing a real hang-up over the ubiquitous cell phone.
Austria's second-largest city of Graz has ordered public transit commuters to keep their phones on silent mode. Graz is following the lead of France's national railway, which offers phone-free "zen zones" on high-speed trains.
The crackdown has triggered a debate between advocates of free speech and people who say they are fed up with having to listen to annoying ring tones and intrusive cell phone chatter.
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Graz Mayor Siegfried Nagl told Austrian television Thursday he is determined to make sure commuters can ride in peace if they wish.