FCC to Vote on Allowing Prisons to Use Cellphone Signal Jammers

Image: Brendan Carr plans to let prisons jam cellphone signals · Source

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a November 19 vote on permitting prisons to deploy cellphone signal jammers under strict regulation, aiming to curb contraband phone use linked to criminal activities inside prisons.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced plans to hold a vote on November 19 to consider rules allowing prisons to install cellphone signal jammers. Currently, radiofrequency jammers are broadly prohibited under Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934, with only limited exceptions, largely restricted to some federal facilities. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stated that thousands of contraband cellphones have infiltrated prisons for years, enabling serious offenders to orchestrate violent acts, manage gang operations, and run illicit enterprises from behind bars.

The proposed rules would enable correctional facilities to receive licenses for signal jamming equipment but under strict conditions. Prisons must demonstrate through experimental licenses that jamming equipment will not cause harmful interference beyond designated "jamming containment areas." Testing protocols include both initial and post-license evaluations within the correctional facility before full operation begins. Additionally, mobile network carriers, emergency responders including FirstNet and 911 authorities, and local communities must be notified in advance of on-site testing and deployment.

The initiative has the backing of state law enforcement officials like Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. However, some incarcerated journalists have criticized the move, asserting that contraband cellphones have been pivotal for rapidly reporting civil rights abuses and exposing inhumane prison conditions, referencing a 2024 Department of Justice investigation into Georgia prisons as an example.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has urged caution, recommending a pilot program to assess potential unintended consequences of expanding jammer use beyond federal institutions.

Beyond FCC action, legislative efforts are underway to support prison jamming technology, notably the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025 introduced by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, aiming to provide statutory authority to correctional facilities for such measures.

If adopted, these rules will mark a significant shift in the regulatory landscape governing wireless signal jamming, balancing the interests of public safety and the rights of incarcerated individuals against concerns about interference and abuse of jamming technology.