# US regulator to consider optional cellphone jamming in state prisons

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/fcc-chair-wants-to-let-prisons-jam-illegal-cellphones/
- Published: 2026-10-28T23:09:22+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T23:18:04+00:00
- Original publisher: Engadget
- Original article: https://www.engadget.com/2300569/fcc-chair-wants-to-let-prisons-jam-illegal-cellphones/
- Topics: Elections, Politics

## Key points

- The FCC plans to vote on allowing state and local prisons to jam cellphone signals.
- Facilities would have to prevent interference beyond designated areas.
- The proposal revives concerns about emergency communications and misuse.

## Summary

The US Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on a rule that would let state and local prisons and jails choose to use cellphone jammers against unauthorised phones. The proposal marks a shift from the FCC’s longstanding opposition and aims to limit inmates’ ability to use illegal phones to continue criminal activity outside prison.

The vote is scheduled for 19 November, and jammer use would remain optional. Facilities would have to show that their systems do not cause harmful interference beyond designated areas; earlier concerns included disruption to emergency and public safety communications, as well as the risk of jamming technology being misused. Federal prisons began testing “micro-jamming” in 2018, and the FCC also delayed a cap on prison phone-call rates in July 2025.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.