Commissioners Approve FCC's Jamming NPRM Despite Concerns From Gomez and Industry

Commissioner Anna Gomez called on the FCC to move cautiously on allowing jamming in correctional facilities and to start with a pilot program. Questions on a pilot were added to the FNPRM, she said.

“A pilot program would allow us to learn about what happens to lawful communications around a correctional facility using jammers, especially when the facility is in a populated urban area,” Gomez said. “Could a lawful call to 911 be blocked simply because the caller was too close to a jammer operating at a jail? Would homes near correctional facilities experience disruptions in service?”

Gomez noted the long-standing prohibitions against anyone who jams cell signals. “While the problem we are trying to address is of critical importance, I worry about the potential unintended consequences of permitting jamming by nonfederal actors and permitting jamming equipment to formally enter the American market,” she said. On top of the “inherent risk of blocking lawful and emergency communications, we have already seen bad actors use Wi-Fi jammers to disrupt security systems, security cameras, and cellphones to facilitate unauthorized entry and burglaries at homes and stores."

Contraband cellphones “have been pouring into state and local prisons by the tens of thousands every year,” said Chairman Brendan Carr. “They are used to run drug operations, orchestrate kidnappings and further criminal enterprises in communities all across the country.”

Cases of prisoners using contraband phones to commit additional crimes “are neither rare nor isolated,” added Commissioner Olivia Trusty. The devices are “routinely used … to coordinate criminal activity, intimidate witnesses and even plan escapes,” she said. “The good news is this problem has not gone unnoticed."

Industry experts say the FCC is likely to see pushback on the proposal to allow jamming of cell signals (see 2509290054). Carriers have long favored jamming alternatives. “We continue to support the advancement of proven solutions, such as Managed Access Systems, that disable service to illegal devices without impeding access to lawful communication,” a CTIA spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld said the FCC should stick with its current “bright-line rule that is easy to enforce -- no jamming cellphones, no ceiling cellphone jammers, no importing cellphone jammers.” The notice proposes to violate the clear language of the Communications Act to “create a loophole -- just for correctional facilities,” he said. “History shows that once you can legally import and sell something, vendors will sell it to anyone.”

Wireless Infrastructure

Commissioners also approved 3-0 notices addressing rules changes to speed wireless and wireline deployments.

On the wireless NPRM, Carr said the FCC has more work ahead. He was tasked with overseeing changes to wireless infrastructure rules during the first Trump administration. Some state and local governments “still do not follow our rules,” he said. “They sit on applications for too long or demand enormous sums of money to process permitting applications.”

Reforms that the FCC adopted in 2018 “largely focused on small cells, but not other types of wireless deployments,” Carr said. Carriers “still have to navigate a thicket of red tape to get the permits they need.”

Making sure all Americans have access to “affordable, reliable and resilient” service should be the commission’s top goal, Gomez said. She criticized the Trump administration’s approach to the BEAD program, echoing concerns raised by smaller providers (see 2509220057).

“In recent months, unnecessary political, ideological, and technical hurdles have slowed” the program, “leaving too many communities waiting,” Gomez said. “That uncertainty is forcing businesses in many states to rethink investments.” The administration “should stop treating BEAD as a moving target and let states be the best stewards of their communities’ needs."

Wireline NOI

Despite FCC efforts in recent years to streamline wireline deployments, they still can get mired in state and local red tape, Wireline Bureau lawyer Jesse Goodwin said. The notice of inquiry approved Tuesday seeks comment on the delays that providers run into when trying to use state and local public rights-of-way for wireline telecom services and on the fees that those states and local governments charge for authorizations. It also seeks comment on other types of state and local requirements that can effectively prohibit wireline telecom deployments or services.

Trusty said she also wanted to hear about state and local approaches that successfully balance state and local interests with approaches that foster deployments.

Carr said state and local permitting and approvals processes with different requirements and different timelines can result in slowed deployment and increased costs. Previous actions that the FCC took under Section 253 of the Communications Act were followed by “a significant surge” in wireless infrastructure investment, he said, and the agency is looking to do the same with wireline infrastructure. Section 253 gives the agency authority to preempt state or local actions that effectively prohibit telecom service provision.

Gomez criticized the end of the Affordable Creativity Program and what she said were “unnecessary political, ideological and technical hurdles” slowing BEAD deployment. She also defended states’ efforts to regulate AI.

ACA Connects applauded the NOI. “Lifting permitting burdens and other deployment barriers is critical on every level -- from maintaining America’s leadership in technology to spurring economic development in rural communities,” President Grant Spellmeyer said.

Other industry groups also praised the infrastructure items. NTCA Executive Vice President Mike Romano said the proceedings “address the time and cost associated with state and local permitting” and “will build upon the Chairman’s efforts already underway to streamline the transition to the delivery of reliable services over advanced networks.” Rural consumers “will reap the benefits,” Romano said.

“Permitting has been a significant challenge for CCA members working to close the digital divide in rural areas, and further streamlining and improvement is necessary,” said Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan. Will Adams, T-Mobile's vice president of federal regulatory affairs, said in a statement that “cutting regulatory red tape will accelerate broadband deployment for consumers, promote investment and innovation, and help keep the U.S. leading the way in 5G -- and the race to 6G.”

DFR Dissent

The FCC voted 2-1 to approve a direct final rule item on eliminating 386 wireline rules that the agency said are outdated. The item targeted rules that govern obsolete technology or are duplicative or no longer used, Carr said Tuesday. “We're about halfway through what I call the deadwood stage of our delete campaign.” In what he called the “upcoming Phase 2” of the effort, Carr said the agency would take “significant, substantive whacks at the FCC rulebook.”

Gomez dissented and objected to the DFR process, as she has previously in similar proceedings. “The procedures used today to erase rules adopted pursuant to notice and comment were put in place without seeking public comment on appropriate processes and guardrails.” She added that erasing rules with an abbreviated comment period is particularly concerning when some address accessibility, as in Tuesday’s order. “Many of the rules being removed through this process today involve the deaf and blind community.” The order “does little to explain” how the deletions might affect equipment accessibility or the ability of those affected to lodge complaints, she said. “While some of these are not substantive rules, I worry about the public’s ability to properly assess the impact of the broader changes we’re proposing here.”