The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on whether to ease its longstanding ban on cellphone jamming technology in correctional facilities at the end of this month.
Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Department of Corrections interim director Justin Farris say the policy change is needed to keep contraband devices from fueling crime from behind bars.
"This is a top priority to protect the safety of our staff and maintain order inside our facilities," Stitt said in a press release. "Keeping contraband cellphones out of our prisons is just common sense."
The Department of Corrections reports seizing more than 4,000 cellphones so far this year, a figure officials say underscores the need for stronger enforcement methods. Farris called the FCC's proposal a "a historic and necessary step" to stop incarcerated people from using smuggled devices to coordinate crimes.
For years, the FCC has prohibited jamming, citing concerns it could also block 911 calls, authorized radio channels or other critical communications in or near prisons. The change in course was announced by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this month in Arkansas. He thanked the Trump Administration for making way for the measure.
"President Trump is restoring law and order," Carr said. "He is putting the safety of law-abiding Americans first ... It is time to empower law enforcement to put additional solutions in place—including jamming."
The FCC was created by Congress in the 1930s to ensure communications systems serve "all the people of the United States" by being reliable, accessible and competitive, "without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex."
Prosecutors and corrections officials across the country have tried to find another avenue around the FCC rules, repeatedly asking Congress to loosen jamming restrictions. Those efforts have been unsuccessful.
Earlier this year, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond joined a coalition of 31 state attorneys general pushing for legislation that would allow jamming. Measures were introduced in the U.S. House and Senate in March but haven't received a vote in either chamber.
"The proliferation of illegal cell phones in our prison systems represents a serious public safety threat to Oklahomans," Drummond said in a statement. "These devices are not just communication tools for inmates, but dangerous instruments that enable criminal activities that extend far beyond prison walls and directly impact our communities."
If approved by the FCC, the change would classify contraband cellphones as unauthorized communication devices, making room for state and federal prisons to legally jam cellphone signals.
The FCC says its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes an authorization framework that would facilitate cooperation between correctional departments and wireless carriers to create targeted approaches that don't interfere with the "wireless devices of Americans who live, work, and travel near prisons."
Copyright 2025 KOSU
