Brendan Carr plans to let prisons jam cellphone signals
The FCC could authorize licenses for jamming equipment to block inmates from using phones.
by Stevie Bonifield
Oct 28, 2026, 6:57 PM UTC
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Stevie Bonifield is a news writer covering all things consumer tech. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI.
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 bannedunder 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...
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