Parties to a regular telephone call have an objectively reasonable expection of privacy. Although courts have found that it is objectively reasonable to have an expectation of privacy when talking over the telephone, such ruling may not apply to cordless and cellular telephones. The reason, generally speaking, is that cordless and cellular telephone calls are broadcast over the airwaves. Cordless telephones have handsets that are not connected by wire to the base and transmit to it a short distance by radio. Cordless phone conversations may be intercepted with a standard radio, either intentionally or inadvertently, by those in close proximity.
Cellular telephones are portable phones that transmit to a cell station.
The stations are installed throughout all major cities and are becoming common in rural areas. In a sense, a cellular phone is no different from a cordless phone in that it broadcasts to a receiving station, although an ordinary radio cannot pick up the broadcast frequency used by cellular phones, and selling the devices used to pick up cellular transmissions has been illegal since 1993. That rule should no longer be valid, because in 1994 Congress amended provisions of the federal wiretap statutes so that cordless telephone conversations are protected in the same manner as regular telephone calls. These protections have existed for cellular phones since 1986. Under these provisions, it is illegal to intercept cellular telephone calls, illegally intercepted calls may not be introduced into evidence, and privileges are not lost because of interception.