Wright Petitioners Raise Questions on Draft Contraband Cellphone Order
The Wright Petitioners, who pressed the FCC to start the inquiry leading to rules on the costs of calls from inside correctional facilities, said the cost of combating contraband cellphones mustn't be passed on to prisoners and their families. An…
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order and Further NPRM on contraband cellphones is to get a vote at the FCC’s March 23 commissioners' meeting (see 1703020063). Lawyers for the petitioners reported on a meeting with Rachael Bender, wireless aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “Counsel expressed that the Wright Petitioners do not have an opinion on the content of the technical rules as set forth in the draft Report and Order, but it is clear that the proposed rules do not include adequate protections to ensure that the cost of contraband cellphone detection systems will not be passed onto inmates and their families,” said a filing in docket 13-111. The Wright Petitioners also questioned whether the FCC has any reliable cost estimates for the order itself. The filing hadn't been posted. Technology company Try Safety First reported on a meeting between its lawyer, Jamie Barnett, ex-chief of the Public Safety Bureau, and bureau officials including acting Chief Lisa Fowlkes. The FCC should keep in mind “the need for a complete solution to the serious problem of contraband cell phones,” said Barnett, now at Venable. “The technology must render the cell phone useless and incapable of even recording photos or text; otherwise unconnected cell phones can still be passed and used for illicit and unauthorized communication. Cell Command's beacon technology, Cell Warden, renders the device incapable of any use.”