BOP News · November 2026
Prison cell phone jamming: what fed and state inmates need to know
The rumor is true. The FCC plans to allow prisons to jam cell phones.
On November 19, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) votes on rules that would let state prisons and county jails jam contraband cell phones. The rules would permit jamming, not require it, and jamming would have to stay inside an FCC-approved "containment area" at each facility.1,2
It doesn't look like the feds are going to do it any time soon.
The feds always could. They don't need the FCC.
This vote doesn't affect federal prisons
The new FCC rules cover "non-federal" facilities only.1 The federal government has always been exempt from the federal law against jamming radio signals. The Bureau of Prisons tested jammers at FCI Cumberland in 2018, then looked at them again at a South Carolina state prison in 2019. They worked.3,4 The BOP has always had the authority to jam.
So why haven't they done it?
It could be a lot of reasons, but we think it's about money. The BOP can't pay enough to keep staff, can't keep up with medical care, and can't fix the facilities it already has.
Jammers don't pick sides
A jammer blocks every phone in the area, including staff phones. Turn one on and the captain's phone goes dead too.
Location matters
Some federal prisons sit on military bases. FCI Fort Dix, the largest federal prison in the country, is on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.9 Jamming next to military operations is a problem of its own.
Bottom line
State prisons and county jails: jammers may be coming once the rules pass and a facility pays for them.
Federal prisons: don't hold your breath.
We'll report on the vote on November 19. How much is a phone going for at your spot? Tell us in the comments on the video.
About Surviving the Feds. We post Intel about the BOP, the federal courts, and everything else that affects people inside and their families. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Federal Communications Commission. Fact Sheet: Promoting Technological Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Device Use in Correctional Facilities, Third Report and Order and Fourth FNPRM, GN Docket No. 13-111. Oct. 29, 2026. docs.fcc.gov
- NEA Report. "FCC to Vote Nov. 19 on Cellphone Jamming Rules for Prisons and Jails." Oct. 28, 2026. neareport.com
- U.S. Department of Justice. "Bureau of Prisons Tests Micro-Jamming Technology in Federal Prison to Prevent Contraband Cell Phones." Jan. 2018. justice.gov
- U.S. Department of Justice. "Prison Test Shows Micro-Jamming May Counter Criminal Threat of Contraband Cell Phones." 2019. justice.gov
- Urban Institute. "Cell Phone Jamming Technology for Contraband Interdiction in Correctional Settings." July 2023. urban.org
- U.S. House Committee on Appropriations. FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act summary (Federal Prison System: $8.382 billion). appropriations.house.gov
- Federal Bureau of Prisons. Press release on facility closures and maintenance backlog. July 1, 2026. bop.gov
- Prison Legal News. "FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails." Nov. 1, 2025. prisonlegalnews.org
- Wikipedia. "Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix." wikipedia.org