FCC to vote on letting prisons block cellphone signals

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on November 19th on rules that would let prisons block cellphone signals with jamming equipment. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the vote. A jammer is a device that drowns out wireless signals so phones in an area cannot connect.

What changed

Jammers are generally banned under Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934, with few exceptions. Carr has noted that some federal facilities are already allowed to use them. The new rules would let other prisons apply for licenses to run jamming equipment, if they meet strict conditions.

Why supporters want it

Carr says thousands of contraband cellphones keep flowing into prisons. In his words, some of the worst offenders have used them to "order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises." Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr are among the law enforcement officials pushing for the change.

The concerns

Commissioner Anna Gomez backed starting with a pilot program. She said she worries about "unintended consequences" of letting non-federal actors jam signals and letting jamming equipment formally enter the American market.

Anonymous incarcerated journalists see another motive. They say contraband phones let them send reports of civil rights violations to news outlets quickly enough to prevent cover-ups. They point to a 2024 Justice Department investigation into Georgia's prisons, which found "horrific and inhumane conditions" after evidence first came out on contraband phones.

What the rules would require

The FCC's proposal sets limits on how jamming could work for prisons:

• Jamming is allowed only inside an FCC-approved "jamming containment area."
• It must not cause harmful interference outside that area.
• Testing under an experimental license must show the signal stays inside the zone.
• More testing must happen at the facility before operations begin.

Carriers, FirstNet, public safety coordinators and 911 authorities would get advance notice of on-site testing. Nearby communities would get notice before jamming is deployed.

What happens next

The commission votes November 19th. Congress is also looking at the issue. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton introduced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025 last year. For people living near a prison, the key point is that the rules say jamming must stay inside the approved area.