FCC Proposes Rule Changes Targeting Contraband Cellphones in Prisons
The FCC released an NPRM that asks a battery of questions about measures to combat contraband cellphones in correctional facilities, focusing on the use of managed access and detection systems. The FCC approved the NPRM by electronic voting earlier this week (CD May 1 p10). The NPRM says there’s widespread evidence that contraband cellphones are a major problem.
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"Prisoners in federal, state, and local correctional facilities increasingly use wireless devices to engage in criminal activity while incarcerated, which poses a serious security challenge to correctional facility administrators, law enforcement authorities, and the general public,” the FCC said (http://bit.ly/18ulo1V). “For example, prisoners can use contraband wireless devices ’to arrange the delivery of contraband drugs or other goods, transmit information on prison staff to or from non-inmates, harass witnesses or other individuals, or potentially coordinate an escape.'"
CTIA welcomed the NPRM. “As we have seen from successful demonstrations and deployments across the country, non-interfering technologies, such as cell detection and managed access, are lawful, scalable and available today,” said CTIA Vice President Chris Guttman-McCabe. “This is an important issue for the wireless industry, and we look forward to working with the Commission on this proceeding."
A main focus of the proposed rules is speeding up the licensing process for managed access systems -- systems that use wireless base stations located within the prison itself to capture and block transmissions to or from unauthorized devices. “The Commission proposes to process all spectrum leases for managed access systems overnight, with the approval or acceptance posted to the universal licensing system the following business day after filing,” the NPRM said.
The NPRM said the commission approved the first managed access system at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Miss., in 2010. It subsequently approved systems at facilities in Baltimore City, Md.; Ridgeville, S.C.; Beaumont, Texas; and Beeville, Texas. But the FCC approval process can take time, the NPRM said. “Given the current lease processing challenges and transaction costs involved in the deployment of managed access systems, we seek to streamline our filing requirements and application processing mechanisms,” the NPRM said. “Through streamlined regulatory processes, stakeholders will be better equipped to combat the use of contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities."
The FCC also asks about rule changes that would encourage the use of detection systems, which locate, track and identify radio signals originating from a device using passive, receive-only technology. “We propose to require CMRS licensees to terminate service to contraband devices within correctional facilities pursuant to a qualifying request from an authorized party,” the NPRM said. “We seek comment on the costs and benefits of this proposal.” The NPRM also asks about the “specific information that the correctional facility must transmit to the provider to effectuate termination, timing for carrier termination, methods of authenticating a termination request, and other issues,” the NPRM said.
The agency said there’s a “nexus” between cell phone detection at prisons and carriers’ commitments to take steps to deter smartphone theft and protect consumer data. “Under the commitment, participating wireless providers will work to implement and deploy database solutions using unique smartphone identification numbers to prevent stolen smartphones from being activated or from receiving service,” the NPRM said. “The commitment represents a significant recognition of the public interest benefits of deterring unauthorized use of wireless devices and the feasibility of a technological solution that can uniquely identify a stolen device and terminate service to the device."
Contraband cellphones pose a real threat, said Commissioner Ajit Pai, citing the case of Patrick Byers, who was in jail in Baltimore in 2007 awaiting trial on murder charges. “Unfortunately, like many of the inmates in that facility, Byers had access to a contraband cell phone,” Pai said. “With his trial only 8 days away, Byers has been convicted of using that cell phone to order the murder of Carl Lackl, whom Byers’ associates then killed on his front lawn. Lackl, a 38 year-old father, was the prosecution’s key witness to the crime -- an innocent man who suffered the sad serendipity of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, stories like this one are not uncommon, so it’s not an exaggeration to say that preventing prisoners from making unauthorized phone calls can save lives.”