The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has authorized the first federally sanctioned test of cell phone signal jamming technology inside the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, using CellAntenna technology.

 

CellAntenna, engaged in jamming and boosting cell phone signals, reportedly demonstrated how jamming can be surgical enough to block illegal signals without affecting cell phone communications outside the prison perimeter. CellAntenna said that the demonstration of this technology supports S251, a bill that is currently awaiting House approval, which would allow state authorities to use cell phone signals jamming devices in prisons. Under current law, only Federal agencies can use the technology.

 

 

Howard Melamed, CEO of CellAntenna, said: "The issue of contraband cell phones inside America's prisons has reached pandemic proportions, and this test is a big step toward ending the deaths and illegal activities that can be linked back to convicts with cell phone reception. "The Federal government and the NTIA are acknowledging the fact that cell phones in prisons pose a deadly and unnecessary risk to citizens. This test should be a wakeup call for legislators and corrections departments everywhere, because it proves that cell phone jamming is a solution for making our prisons safer."