Brendan Carr plans to let prisons jam cellphone signals

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the agency will vote on November 19th on rules that would allow prisons to use signal jamming. Radiofrequency jammers are generally banned under Section 333 and the Communications Act of 1934, with few exceptions, and Carr has noted they’ve been permitted for use at some federal facilities already. Carr claims in a statement that jammers are needed because “For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises.”

When the FCC approved a draft proposal last year, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez suggested beginning with a pilot program to test the implications on surrounding areas, saying, “While the problem we are trying to address is of critical importance, I worry about the potential unintended consequences of permitting jamming by non-federal actors and permitting jamming equipment to formally enter the American market.”

Arkansas AG Tim Griffin, who was also present for the event where the vote was announced, and Georgia AG Chris Carr have been among law enforcement officials pushing for the change. However, anonymous incarcerated journalists argue that this push is actually a response to their use of phones to distribute “uncensored reports of civil rights violations to news media in a timely enough manner to deny the creation of cover-ups.” They specifically cited the 2024 DOJ investigation into Georgia’s prisons that found “horrific and inhumane conditions” in response to evidence initially transferred via contraband phones.

The FCC’s proposal describes how prisons could get licenses to use jamming equipment:

> As the Commission takes this historic step to improve public safety, eligible entities pursuing either of the two licensing paths will be subject to technical standards and testing requirements. This includes initial testing pursuant to an experimental license to prove that the jamming solution does not cause harmful interference outside of the designated geographic areas, as well as post-license grant testing at the subject correctional facility prior to beginning operations.

> Jamming may occur only within a Commission-authorized “jamming containment area” where wireless device operation is prohibited, and it must not cause harmful interference outside that area.

> Additionally, relevant carriers, FirstNet, public safety coordinators, and 911 authorities would receive advance notice of the on-site testing, and nearby communities would receive notice before deployment.

As Carr’s announcement notes, there are also legislative attempts to allow correctional facilities to use signal jamming technology, like the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025, introduced last year by Arkansas senator Tom Cotton.