FCC Schedules November Vote to Authorize Prison Cellphone Jamming

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on November 19 to determine if prisons can legally jam cellphone signals.

Chairman Brendan Carr announced the agenda item on Tuesday. The proposal would grant licenses to correctional facilities seeking to block inmate phone usage. Currently, radiofrequency jammers are largely banned under Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934, with only limited exceptions for specific federal sites.

Carr stated that thousands of contraband phones enter prisons annually. He said offenders use these devices to order hits, coordinate gang violence, and support criminal operations. To qualify for a license, facilities must follow one of two paths. Applicants must pass initial testing under an experimental license to prove the equipment does not create harmful interference outside designated zones. Further testing is required at the specific facility before operations begin.

The rules restrict jamming to Commission-authorized containment areas where wireless devices are prohibited. Carriers, FirstNet, public safety coordinators, and 911 authorities would receive advance notice of on-site testing. Nearby communities would also be notified before deployment. Commissioner Anna Gomez previously suggested a pilot program to monitor unintended consequences. She expressed concern about allowing non-federal actors to use jamming equipment and bringing the technology formally to the American market.

State officials are actively supporting the change. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr attended the announcement event. Griffin and Carr are part of a group of law enforcement leaders pushing for the rule update. Meanwhile, a group of anonymous incarcerated journalists argues the push serves a different purpose. They say jamming would prevent them from sending timely reports of civil rights violations to news media, which they believe helps prevent cover-ups.

These journalists cited the 2024 Department of Justice investigation into Georgia prisons. That probe found horrific and inhumane conditions after evidence was initially shared through contraband phones. Congress is also examining the issue. The FCC’s announcement referenced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025, a bill introduced last year by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton to allow correctional facilities to use the technology.