FCC Takes Aim at Contraband Cellphones in State and Local Prisons

The Federal Communications Commission proposed new rules to empower local and state correctional authorities to jam signals from illegal contraband cellphones. Thousands of contraband cellphones have poured into prisons across the country, and inmates have been using them to coordinate violent gang activity, call in hits, and aid criminal enterprises. Jamming devices are not currently allowed in non-federal prisons. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking looks to pave the way for phone jamming solutions in non-federal correctional facilities, while preventing harmful interference to authorized users. Specifically, the Commission will take public input on a proposal to make clear that, while jamming of authorized radio transmissions is not allowed, signals from illegal mobile devices smuggled into prisons are not authorized and thus can be actively blocked by FCC-approved devices.