Remarks of FCC Commissioner Pai at Contraband Cellphone Field Hearing

The purpose of this hearing is to focus on the public safety threat posed by contraband cellphones in prisons and jails, as well as the technologies that can help law enforcement combat this problem. We typically think of cellphones as useful devices. But in the hands of inmates, contraband cellphones are weapons. Inmates are using them to run drug operations, direct gang activity, order hits, extort money from inmates’ families, defraud the elderly, and harass innocent members of the public. And right now, contraband cellphones are flooding into our nation’s jails and prisons. They are flown into institutions via drones. They are thrown over prison fences. They are smuggled into facilities inside everything from underwear to legal papers. I hope today’s field hearing will reboot the conversation and build a foundation for a strong response. The Federal Communications Commission needs to do everything it can to help law enforcement combat this problem. I intend to do my part to make that happen.