GoKawiilFCC to vote on allowing state prisons to use cellphone jammers
The FCC announced it will vote at its November 19 open meeting on a rule letting state and local prisons opt in to using cellphone jammers to block inmates' unauthorized phone use. Facilities choosing to use the technology would need to show jamming doesn't interfere with signals outside designated areas, and federal prisons that have tested 'micro-jamming' since 2018 would get a formal pathway to continue.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The proposal reverses the FCC's longstanding resistance to jamming technology, which it previously worried could disrupt emergency communications or spread jamming tools that bad actors could misuse. Paired with the agency's July 2025 delay of a cap on prison phone call rates, the move suggests a broader shift in how the current administration is approaching telecommunications policy inside correctional facilities.
- FCC will vote November 19 on allowing state and local prisons to use cellphone jammers against contraband phones.
- Participation would be optional, and facilities must prove jamming stays within designated areas.
- The change reverses prior FCC policy and follows a July 2025 delay of prison phone call rate caps.
Source: engadget.com — Anna Washenko, 2026-10-28
Published there as: “FCC chair wants to let prisons jam illegal cellphones”
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