Policyband

FCC’s Carr to Unveil Plan for Jamming Contraband Cell Phones in State Prisons

FCC leader to address this public safety issue today at a Little Rock, Ark. press conference

Ted Hearn

Oct 28, 2026 — 9 min read

Photo of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr touring Arkansas’ Varner Prison in Sept. 2025

💡

■ Oregon Governor’s Data Center Ban Delaying Fiber Broadband ROW Permitting
■ Shentel Adds Record 8,600 Glo Fiber Net Additions in Q3
■ FCC Approved Amazon Leo’s $11.5 Billion Acquisition of Globalstar’s Spectrum
■ Midco CEO Pat McAdaragh to Retire March 1, 2027; Ben Dold Will Take Over Top Position
■ United CEO Scott Kirby: ‘There’s Only One Option for Fast. It’s Starlink’
■ Analyst Johnny Kampis Looks at Maryland’s New Law on Copper Theft
■ FCC Sets Deadlines for New Comments on Robocalls
■ Christina Schelling Named Verizon EVP and Chief People Officer
■ Parks Associates: HDR Becoming Key Feature of Premium Video Entertainment

Prison: A fight over prison cellphone jamming is set to move back into the spotlight Wednesday as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr prepares to outline a plan that could allow state correctional facilities to block signals from contraband devices. Carr is scheduled to discuss the proposal at a 10 a.m. ET press conference today in Little Rock, Ark., alongside Sen. Tom Cotton (R‑Ark.) and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R)

Carr first proposed allowing state and local prisons to deploy approved jamming technology in September 2025. Carr has argued the agency can interpret Section 333 of the Communications Act to treat contraband cellphone use inside prisons as unauthorized communications, potentially clearing the way for signal jamming.

“What we can do at the federal level is we authorize communications or we don’t authorize communications, and so what we’re going to do is we’re going to deauthorize the lawful use of contraband cell phones within the confines of prisons,” Carr said last year in outlining this original approach, which may have changed slightly in the interval. “So once contraband cellphone use is not an authorized communication, then the federal law is no longer a prohibition to jamming it.” (More after paywall)