Federal Report Finds Micro-Jamming Offers Significant Potential
NTIA said in a report Friday that tests at a federal prison in January show targeted micro-jammers can disrupt cell signals inside a prison cell but have no effect several feet away. Wireless carriers have opposed cell jamming, which…
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they say violates the Communications Act. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), NTIA and the FCC cooperated on the tests, done at the Federal Correctional Institution at Cumberland, Maryland (see 1801180054). “These promising test results mark a step forward countering the security threat posed by contraband cellphones,” said Assistant Attorney General Beth Ann Williams for the Office of Legal Policy in a BOP news release. “The results indicate the potential for localized impact of this micro-jamming technology. That is an encouraging sign that brings us closer to a solution that will make our communities safer and help prevent the continuation of criminal activity from inside prison walls.” Prison officials “reported that while their cellphone signals were blocked inside the cell, their cellphones were operable when standing several feet from the cell’s window,” BOP said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has concerns about the danger of contraband devices (see 1604060058). Last week, CTIA hosted a two-day meeting on technical solutions (see 1806130090). The report said the results reflect the conditions at the Cumberland prison. “The measurement results of this study are idiosyncratic to this particular jammer installation at this particular facility,” the report said. “Variations in jammer designs and emission characteristics, structural and attenuation characteristics of buildings, and site-dependent propagation factors would be expected to produce different results for different jammer installations.” CTIA and the FCC didn't comment.