Senate Passes Jamming Bill Despite Administration Quibbles

Agreed-upon revisions in an amended version of the bill could be appended to either of the appropriations bills that fund NTIA or the FCC, said a Senate Commerce aide. If that bill passes the Senate, the House could take up the measure. “We've asked for further dialogue [with the administration] and will consider changes,” the aide said. Senate passage of S-251 caught many by surprise. The Commerce Committee received an Oct. 2 letter from the Commerce Department’s general counsel seeking changes to the bill. The legislation was championed by Senate ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Hutchison already had made several changes to her original bill in response to concerns raised during hearings. The committee approved the bill Aug. 5 (CD Aug 6 p1).

“We support the bill’s goal of assuring that effective, appropriate tools are made available quickly to prisons,” said the Oct. 2 letter from the Commerce Department’s General Counsel to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. The bill would require the FCC to conduct a rulemaking on potential use of wireless jamming equipment in correctional facilities, seeking input from NTIA. The legislation specifies that all technologies capable of preventing unauthorized use of wireless communications be explored. The FCC would have to set up rules for using the blocking technologies before allowing a waiver from legal and regulatory prohibitions.

The Commerce Department is asking that the bill be “broadened from solely granting permission to jam to a more flexible process that encourages the use of a range of technologies,” the Oct. 2 letter said. Such systems, known as managed access, could identify and block groups of unauthorized cellphone numbers. Also possible is use of detection equipment that could locate hidden devices within prison facilities. “While the bill wisely recognizes that alternatives to jamming exist, it does not integrate them into the waiver process,” the letter said. “On final passage, the bill should encourage the Commission to consider alternate approaches to jamming.”

Commerce also wants the FCC to be authorized to grant streamlined approval of non-jamming approaches. This would “afford correctional authorities a more expeditious means of combating the serious problem of illegal inmate use of cell phones,” the letter said. A third concern is the bill’s impinging on the president’s right to manage federal spectrum, the letter said. NTIA authorizes the use of radio frequencies used by federal entities, which includes the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The commission oversees commercial spectrum, but S-251 would expand FCC authority to authorize jamming technology use by the BOP. The administration opposes this approach and suggested the bill delete the provision, since “NTIA has the authority to address the unlawful use of cell phones in Federal prisons.”

Finally, the bill “omits consideration of potential interference effects on Federal systems” and should be revised to ensure that waivers to use jamming technologies be granted only if it’s clear there is “no potential for harmful interference.” All the proposed changes to the bill would provide prison officials with the tools needed to thwart illegal activity, “while preserving the regulatory principles” underpinning the communications infrastructure, the letter said.

Passage was widely expected, despite warnings from the wireless industry of potential interference with consumer service in areas where jamming would be employed. At a July hearing, CTIA President Steve Largent said the industry believes jamming of wireless signals “is not a panacea and raises potentially serious concerns that must be taken into account as Congress contemplates how to address this issue.” The group worries that once jamming technologies are allowed on the market they could be hijacked by bad actors and used to disrupt important public safety or law enforcement communications.

“The 800 MHz public safety band is adjacent to the cellular band and the 700 MHz spectrum bands that will soon be brought into use by both commercial and public safety entities,” Largent said in his July testimony. The proximity of the bands opens the possibility that jamming systems could be used inappropriately, he said, something Congress should consider in proceeding with legislation. But CTIA praised the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Hutchison, R-Texas, for trying to accommodate industry concerns in the version the Commerce Committee approved.

CTIA had no comment Tuesday on full Senate passage. But in previous statements, the group has said it agrees with the goals of halting contraband use of cellphones in correctional institutions. But it believes there are better technologies to correct the problem that don’t pose a threat to consumer communications. CTIA supports use of cellphone detection technology which could detect devices that prisoners try to hide. It also would like to adopt a technology that would isolate authorized phone numbers within facilities and allow them to be used, but not allow calls from phones with numbers not on the list.

A similar House bill (HR-560) sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, was modeled after S-251 but due to changes in the Senate bill can no longer be considered a companion. It’s possible House leadership could put HR-560 on the House calendar for a vote by unanimous consensus, but leadership press offices did not comment on plans Tuesday. The bill is being vetted by the House Commerce Committee, according to a spokeswoman for Rep. Lamar Smith, one of the Texas Republican co-sponsors. Some House and Senate aides familiar with the legislation gave it a slim chance of final passage. Hutchison has promoted the bill because local Texas legislators were victims of death threats from inmates using contraband cellphones. But some view Hutchison’s sponsorship of the bill as a way to strengthen her potential campaign for governor, which may dampen the bill’s prospects for ultimate passage, Hill and industry aides said.

The House bill would allow prison facilities to apply for waivers from legal and regulatory bans on using cell- jamming devices. The version of the Senate-approved bill would call in NTIA and “one or more technical bodies with expertise in standards setting” to review all technologies that could prevent unauthorized use of wireless in correctional facilities. S-251 would require the FCC to conduct field testing of devices and set up a system to ensure only devices with FCC approval could be sold, marketed or operated by approved facilities.