Contraband Cellphones in Prisons Can’t Be Tolerated, NTIA Says
An NTIA report on contraband cellphones in prisons said cell signal jamming, which is strongly opposed by wireless carriers, presents many problems and, in the case of state or local prison officials, would be a violation of the Communications Act. The report said managed access technologies “hold promise as a solution.” Cellphone detection also may offer a solution, the report said. NTIA took comments, conducted tests at its lab in Boulder, Colo., and participated in a field test at a prison in Cumberland, Md., in preparing the study.
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"The Administration believes that contraband cellphone use by prison inmates to carry out criminal enterprises is intolerable and demands an effective solution,” NTIA said. “Prison officials should have access to technology to disrupt prison cellphone use in a manner that protects nearby public safety and Federal Government spectrum users from harmful disruption of vital services, and preserves the rights of law-abiding citizens to enjoy the benefits of the public airwaves without interference."
NTIA said contraband cellphones are a growing problem. California corrections officers seized some 261 cellphones in 2006 and 2,811 in 2008, a ten-fold increase, NTIA said. In 2009, Maryland corrections officials confiscated 1,700 phones, compared to 1,200 phones the year before. NTIA did not investigate the reasons for the increase.
Jammers have been proposed as a solution, but present problems, the report said. “The use of jammers by State or local prison officials is a violation of the Communications Act of 1934, and hence illegal,” NTIA said. “Jamming cell signals may be effective where legal in Federal applications, and in some settings with careful design, but its effectiveness and utility may be greatly diminished by interference with other communications, including critical police, firefighter and emergency medical communications and 911 calls.” NTIA noted that “as required by FCC Rules” all mobile phones using commercial spectrum must be able to call 911. “Cellphone jammers cannot differentiate between contraband cell phone calls and authorized calls, including 911 calls,” the report said. NTIA also said if only some frequencies are jammed, prisoners could target those that are not.
A managed access system, in which calls can be intercepted and blocked on an individual basis rather than jammed, “can provide the desirable result -- preventing prisoners from communicating by cellphone with people outside of the prison,” the report said. The system allows authorized users to access a network and also permits callers to make 911 calls, NTIA said. “Managed access techniques do not violate the Communications Act if the FCC issues the proper authorizations and the users comply with the terms of those authorizations,” the report said. “It is unclear, however, whether the use complies with other statutes."
Detection systems, used by corrections officers to locate and confiscate phones, also don’t present the same problems as cell signal jamming, NTIA said. “Detection systems are passive in that they do not transmit, and therefore do not cause interference,” the report said. “Such systems protect 911 and authorized calls and, unless they are used for data gathering for law enforcement intelligence, raise no regulatory or legal issues.”