Cammack’s Push to Crack Down on Prison Cellphones Gains Ground at FCC

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which oversees the FCC, today welcomed a major win in her push to shut down contraband cellphones in prisons. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr announced the agency will vote next month on final rules that, for the first time, would allow state and local correctional facilities to use targeted cellphone-jamming technology. The Order will be voted on at the FCC’s November 19 Open Meeting.

Rep. Cammack has worked the issue on multiple fronts. She met with Chairman Carr on the issue and met several times with Florida Department of Corrections leaders to work through the threat contraband phones pose inside the state’s prisons and find a resolution. Last year, she joined Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) and other colleagues in a letter urging Chairman Carr to advance the rulemaking and give correctional institutions additional tools, warning that inmates have used these devices to orchestrate criminal activity from behind prison walls.

“Contraband cellphones turn prison cells into command centers. Inmates use them to order hits and run criminal enterprises from behind bars,” said Congresswoman Kat Cammack. “That threat lands especially close to home in our district, which has roughly 15 state prisons and correctional institutions, more than any other congressional district in America. Giving our correctional officers the ability to shut these phones off will save lives and cut the crime being run from the inside. We worked this issue directly with Chairman Carr and with Florida’s Department of Corrections leaders, and I’m grateful the Chairman is moving on it. Now Congress needs to finish the fight and make this authority permanent.”

"The criminal use of contraband cell phones is a growing crisis that demands immediate action to maintain public safety and keep our officers and institutions safe," said Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Richard Comerford. "Florida is thankful for the leadership of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Representative Kat Cammack, Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and all of our correctional partners for recognizing this security threat and working to counteract this criminal enterprise."

Contraband cellphones remain a widespread problem in correctional facilities nationwide. A 2024 study found that prison authorities recovered more than 25,000 cellphones in a single year, with two participating facilities each recovering more than 6,000 devices. While the FCC has authorized other technologies to combat contraband phones, it has never before allowed jamming.

Under the proposed final order, jamming would be an option for state and local correctional facilities, and no facility would be required to use it. Facilities pursuing jamming must meet technical standards and pass testing to show the system does not cause harmful interference outside designated areas. Jamming would be limited to a Commission-authorized containment area where wireless device use is already prohibited. Wireless carriers, FirstNet, public safety coordinators, and 911 authorities would receive advance notice of on-site testing, and nearby communities would be notified before deployment.

The FCC will also seek public comment on additional measures to close loopholes that allow contraband cellphones to operate on other frequencies, strengthen protections for public safety communications, and explore potential “quiet zones” around correctional facilities.

The announcement follows congressional efforts to address the issue, including the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act, introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN), which would establish permanent statutory authority for correctional facilities to deploy cellphone-jamming technology.

Read the letter Rep. Cammack joined here. Read the FCC announcement here.

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