111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 251 

AN ACT 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to permit targeted interference with mobile radio services within prison facilities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Prisons Commu3 nications Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INTERFERENCE PERMITTED WITHIN CORREC5 TIONAL FACILITIES. 

6 Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

8 333 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 333A. JAMMING UNAUTHORIZED WIRELESS DEVICES 

10 IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro12 vision of this Act, after the Commission has promulgated 

13 final regulations under sections 3 and 4 of the Safe Pris14 ons Communications Act of 2009, the Commission may 

15 authorize the supervisory authority of a correctional facil16 ity to operate a jamming system within the correctional 

17 facility to prevent, jam, or otherwise interfere with unau18 thorized wireless communications within the facility by in19 dividuals held in the facility. In order to obtain such au20 thority, a supervisory authority shall file a notice of intent 

21 under subsection (b), file a petition for such authority 

22 under subsection (c), and comply with the requirements 

23 of this section and the regulations under this section. 

24 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF INTENT PROCEDURE.— 

25 ‘‘(1) FILING WITH THE COMMISSION.—Not less 

26 than 30 days before filing a petition for authority to 
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1 operate a jamming system under subsection (c), a 

2 correctional facility supervisory authority shall file 

3 with the Commission a notice of intent to seek such 

4 authority. The notice shall identify the correctional 

5 facility to which the authority will relate and be in 

6 such form, and contain such information, as the 

7 Commission may require. 

8 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AGEN9 CIES AND COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE PRO10 VIDERS.—Within 10 days after receiving a notice 

11 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) notify in writing each public safety 

13 agency and each commercial mobile service pro14 vider serving the area in which the correctional 

15 facility to which the notice of intent relates is 

16 located; and 

17 ‘‘(B) provide the name and address of each 

18 such agency and provider so notified by the 

19 Commission to the supervisory authority that 

20 filed the notice of intent. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION AND ACCESS.—Before fil22 ing a petition for jamming authority under this sec23 tion, a supervisory authority— 

24 ‘‘(A) shall consult with the public safety 

25 agencies and commercial mobile service pro-
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1 viders identified by the Commission under para2 graph (2)(B), if such consultation is requested, 

3 to determine— 

4 ‘‘(i) the types of equipment used by 

5 those agencies and providers in the area in 

6 which the correctional facility is located; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the locations of towers and facili8 ties containing wireless transmission equip9 ment belonging to those agencies and pro10 viders in that area, to the extent those 

11 agencies and providers voluntarily provide 

12 such information; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the frequencies used by those 

14 agencies and providers in that area; 

15 ‘‘(B) shall provide access, upon request 

16 and in the discretion of the supervisory author17 ity, by those agencies and providers to the outer 

18 perimeter of the correctional facility for the 

19 purpose of taking measurements and con20 ducting testing to determine signal strength 

21 and the potential for interference with their 

22 transmissions or service; and 

23 ‘‘(C) may solicit recommendations from 

24 those agencies and providers on the selection, 
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1 installation, and configuration of a jamming 

2 system and jamming devices. 

3 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF CONSULTATION PERIOD.— 

4 Upon good cause shown, the Commission may re5 quire a supervisory authority that has filed a notice 

6 of intent under this subsection to provide an addi7 tional period of up to 15 days for the activities de8 scribed in paragraph (3) before submitting a petition 

9 for jamming authority to the Commission. 

10 ‘‘(c) PETITION PROCEDURE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After completing the con12 sultation process provided under subsection (b)(3) 

13 (if such consultation was requested), a supervisory 

14 authority may file a petition with the Commission 

15 requesting authority to install and operate a jam16 ming system within a correctional facility under the 

17 supervisory authority’s jurisdiction. 

18 ‘‘(2) FEE.—The Commission may not charge a 

19 filing fee for a petition under this section. 

20 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AGEN21 CIES AND COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE PRO22 VIDERS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.—Upon 

24 receipt of a petition under paragraph (1), the 

25 Commission shall provide a copy of the petition 
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1 to each public safety agency serving the area 

2 that includes the correctional facility to which 

3 the petition applies. 

4 ‘‘(B) CMS PROVIDERS.—Upon receipt of a 

5 petition under paragraph (1), the Commission 

6 shall provide a copy of the petition to each com7 mercial mobile service provider serving the area 

8 that includes the correctional facility to which 

9 the petition applies. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONTENT OF NOTICE.—The notice 

11 shall include a detailed description of the jam12 ming system and a list of all jamming devices, 

13 including make and model, that the supervisory 

14 authority proposes to use at the correctional fa15 cility. 

16 ‘‘(4) DISPOSITION OF PETITION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the Commission 

18 has promulgated final regulations under sec19 tions 3 and 4 of the Safe Prisons Communica20 tions Act of 2009, the Commission shall act on 

21 a petition under this subsection within 60 days 

22 after the date on which the Commission receives 

23 a complete petition. 
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1 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION CONSIDER2 ATIONS.—In determining whether to grant re3 quested jamming authority, the Commission— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall consider, among other fac5 tors it deems appropriate, whether the pro6 posed jamming system would interfere with 

7 emergency or public safety agency commu8 nications and the extent to which the pro9 posed jamming system may cause harmful 

10 interference to commercial mobile service 

11 communications outside the boundaries of 

12 the correctional facility; 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall consider whether the facility 

14 in question is located in an urban area (as 

15 defined by the Commission for purposes of 

16 this subsection); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) shall address the potential inter18 ference with public safety agency commu19 nications and commercial mobile service 

20 (as defined in section 332(d)(1)) in such 

21 area. 

22 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before making a 

23 determination under this paragraph, the Com24 mission shall allow interested parties to submit 

25 evidence for the record regarding the inter-
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1 ference potential of the jamming system a su2 pervisory authority proposes to use at the cor3 rectional facility. 

4 ‘‘(5) POST-PETITION COORDINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) FCC NOTIFICATION.—When the 

6 Commission approves a petition under this sec7 tion, the Commission shall notify each public 

8 safety agency or commercial mobile service pro9 vider serving the area in which the correctional 

10 facility to which the petition relates is located. 

11 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION REQUEST.—When 

12 any such agency or provider is notified by the 

13 Commission under subparagraph (A), it shall 

14 immediately notify the supervisory authority of 

15 the correctional facility if it intends to partici16 pate in the coordination under subparagraph 

17 (C) or the examination under subparagraph 

18 (D). 

19 ‘‘(C) INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURA20 TION.—During the 30-day period beginning on 

21 the date on which the Commission approves a 

22 petition, the correctional facility supervising au23 thority that filed the petition shall, upon re24 quest, coordinate the installation and configura25 tion of the jamming system authorized by the 
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1 Commission with any public safety agency or 

2 commercial mobile service provider serving the 

3 area in which the correctional facility is located. 

4 ‘‘(D) INSPECTION.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (E), before commencing the oper6 ation of a jamming system authorized by the 

7 Commission, the correctional facility super8 visory authority that filed the petition shall, 

9 upon request, provide access to the correctional 

10 facility to any such public safety agency or com11 mercial mobile service provider for the purpose 

12 of examining the installation or configuration of 

13 the jamming system and jamming devices. 

14 ‘‘(E) COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS.— 

15 Unless otherwise directed by the Commission, a 

16 correctional facility supervisory authority au17 thorized by the Commission to operate a jam18 ming system may commence operation of the 

19 system 30 days after the date on which the 

20 Commission approves the petition filed by that 

21 authority. 

22 ‘‘(d) TERMS OF AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) TERM.—If the Commission grants a peti24 tion under this section, the authority granted pursu25 ant to that petition shall be in effect for a term 
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1 specified by the Commission of not more than 5 

2 years, but shall be renewable by petition. 

3 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF AU4 THORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) NOTICE FROM PROVIDER.—The Com6 mission shall immediately suspend authorization 

7 granted under this section with respect to a cor8 rectional facility upon receiving written notice 

9 from a commercial mobile service provider, sup10 ported by affidavit and such documentation as 

11 the Commission may require, stating that use 

12 of a jamming device by or at such correctional 

13 facility is interfering with commercial mobile 

14 service, or is otherwise preventing or jamming 

15 such communications (other than within the 

16 correctional facility). 

17 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR NOTICE.—In establishing 

18 the requirements for the affidavit in subpara19 graph (A) and the necessary supporting docu20 mentation, the Commission shall require, at a 

21 minimum, that the commercial mobile service 

22 provider perform actual testing and measure23 ments in the area near the correctional facility 

24 and submit the results to the Commission. No25 tice pursuant to subparagraph (A) may not be 
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1 predicated exclusively on customer complaints 

2 or trouble reports unsupported by relevant tech3 nical analysis suggesting interference. 

4 ‘‘(C) NOTICE FROM PUBLIC SAFETY LI5 CENSEE.—The Commission shall immediately 

6 suspend an authorization granted under this 

7 section with respect to a correctional facility 

8 upon receiving written notice from a public 

9 safety agency, supported by affidavit and such 

10 documentation as the Commission may require, 

11 stating that use of a device by or at such cor12 rectional facility is interfering with public safety 

13 agency communications systems or otherwise 

14 preventing or jamming communications on that 

15 system, and describing the nature of the inter16 ference. 

17 ‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON NO18 TICE.—Within 90 days after receiving notice 

19 under subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (C), 

20 the Commission shall conclude an investigation 

21 to determine whether the jamming device au22 thorized for use at the correctional facility is 

23 causing such interference and, based on its 

24 findings and conclusions, may issue an order re-
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1 instating, modifying, or terminating the author2 ization. 

3 ‘‘(E) NONCOMPLIANT USAGE.—If the 

4 Commission has reason to believe that a correc5 tional facility for which an authorization has 

6 been granted under this section is not in com7 pliance with the regulations under this section, 

8 the Commission shall immediately suspend the 

9 authorization until it can make a determination 

10 with respect to such compliance after notice and 

11 an opportunity for a hearing. 

12 ‘‘(3) REVOCATION.—The Commission may re13 voke an authorization under this section for willful 

14 or repeated violations, or failure to observe the re15 quirements, of the terms of the authorization or the 

16 regulations promulgated by the Commission under 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(4) INTERIM USAGE.—If the Commission initi19 ates a suspension or a revocation proceeding under 

20 this subsection, it shall prohibit use of an authorized 

21 jamming system or device at the correctional facility 

22 during the pendency of any such proceeding. 

23 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) TRANSFER PROHIBITED.—A correctional 

25 facility supervisory authority authorized by the Com-
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1 mission to operate a jamming system may not trans2 fer the ownership or right to use the jamming sys3 tem or associated jamming devices to any third 

4 party for use inside or outside the area of the cor5 rectional facility for which the authorization was 

6 granted. 

7 ‘‘(2) LOCATION; USE BY OTHER PARTIES.—The 

8 Commission shall require any correctional facility su9 pervisory authority to prevent the use of an author10 ized jamming system (including any jamming device 

11 used by the system)— 

12 ‘‘(A) in any location other than the correc13 tional facility where use of the system is au14 thorized; or 

15 ‘‘(B) by any entity other than the correc16 tional facility where use of the jamming system 

17 is authorized. 

18 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—The Commission 

19 shall require that any correctional facility super20 visory authority granted authority under this section 

21 to operate a jamming system— 

22 ‘‘(A) utilize only a jamming device— 

23 ‘‘(i) authorized by the Commission; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) specifically approved by the Com2 mission for the purposes of this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) operate the jamming device at the 

4 lowest possible transmission power necessary to 

5 prevent, jam, or interfere with wireless commu6 nications by within the facility by individuals 

7 held in the facility; 

8 ‘‘(C) operate the device on a directionalized 

9 basis, and utilizing all other reasonable inter10 ference-limiting capabilities, in a manner that 

11 does not interfere with public safety agency 

12 communications or lawful commercial wireless 

13 communications that originate and terminate 

14 inside or outside the area of the correctional fa15 cility; 

16 ‘‘(D) operate the jamming device only in 

17 the frequencies necessary to prevent, jam, or 

18 interfere with wireless communications within 

19 the correctional facility; 

20 ‘‘(E) have a documented method of con21 trolling custody of such devices and ensure that 

22 any jamming device operated pursuant to the 

23 authority is destroyed upon expiration of the 

24 authority, or at such time as a jamming device 
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1 is removed from service for any other reason, 

2 including replacement by another device; 

3 ‘‘(F) have a documented method of in4 specting the jamming system on a quarterly 

5 basis to ensure proper functioning, and a docu6 mented method to limit access to the system to 

7 personnel specifically designated by the correc8 tional facility; 

9 ‘‘(G) install the jamming system in a se10 cure area that is inaccessible to individuals held 

11 in the facility and connect the system to a per12 manent power supply with back-up power 

13 sources; and 

14 ‘‘(H) have a documented method of sealing 

15 or locking the jamming system so as to prevent 

16 tampering. 

17 ‘‘(4) DESTRUCTION OF UNUSED OR EXPIRED

18 JAMMING DEVICES; NOTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL

19 JAMMING DEVICE ACQUISITIONS.—Any correctional 

20 facility supervisory authority authorized to operate a 

21 jamming system shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) destroy a jamming device within 60 

23 days after the date on which such authorization 

24 expires unless a petition is pending for renewal 

25 of the authorization; 
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1 ‘‘(B) destroy any such jamming device that 

2 is permanently removed from service; 

3 ‘‘(C) certify such destruction to the Com4 mission; and 

5 ‘‘(D) notify the Commission upon the ac6 quisition of any jamming device that replaces a 

7 destroyed device. 

8 ‘‘(f) DATABASE.—The Commission shall maintain an 

9 electronic database containing a copy of each notice of in10 tent and each petition received by it under this section 

11 and the disposition thereof. The Commission shall update 

12 the database at least monthly and, to the extent consistent 

13 with public safety and welfare, shall make the contents 

14 of the database available upon request to a commercial 

15 mobile service provider or public safety agency. 

16 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE PRO18 VIDER.—The term ‘commercial mobile service pro19 vider’ means a person providing commercial mobile 

20 service (as defined in section 332(d)(1)). 

21 ‘‘(2) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—In this sub22 section, the term ‘correctional facility’ means a jail, 

23 prison, penitentiary, or other correctional facility. 

24 ‘‘(3) JAMMING DEVICE.—The term ‘jamming 

25 device’ means a radio signal generating device used 
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1 as part of a jamming system designed to disrupt, 

2 prevent, interfere with, or jam wireless communica3 tions. 

4 ‘‘(4) JAMMING SYSTEM.—The term ‘jamming 

5 system’ means a system of radio signal generating 

6 and processing equipment and antennas designed to 

7 disrupt, prevent, interfere with, or jam wireless com8 munications within a correctional facility and in9 cludes the components and functionality of the sys10 tem, such as antennas, cabling, and cable elements, 

11 the installation, interconnection, and operation of 

12 system elements, power levels, and radio frequencies 

13 carried on the cables or fed into antennas, the radi14 ation pattern of such antennas, and the location and 

15 orientation of the antennas. 

16 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY.—The term ‘pub17 lic safety agency’ has the meaning given that term 

18 in section 3006(j)(1) of the Digital Television Tran19 sition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (47 U.S.C. 309 

20 note). 

21 ‘‘(6) SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY.—The term ‘su22 pervisory authority’ means the Director of the Fed23 eral Bureau of Prisons, the chief executive officer of 

24 a State (or his or her designee), or the person in 

25 charge of a county or local correctional facility not 
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1 under the authority of the chief executive officer of 

2 a State.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. FCC RULEMAKING REQUIRED. 

4 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall ini6 tiate a rulemaking proceeding and shall promulgate final 

7 regulations governing the use of jamming systems in cor8 rectional facilities under section 333A of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 333A). In the proceeding, 

10 the Commission shall— 

11 (1) solicit and consider the recommendations of 

12 the National Telecommunications and Information 

13 Administration, as well as 1 or more entities with 

14 relevant technical expertise in order to develop 

15 standards and processes for such jamming systems 

16 and jamming devices (as such terms are defined in 

17 that section); and 

18 (2) consider all available technologies capable of 

19 preventing the operation of unauthorized wireless 

20 communications devices in correctional facilities, in21 cluding those devices that may evade detection by 

22 the supervisory authority of such a facility. 

23 SEC. 4. DEVICE CERTIFICATION CRITERIA RULEMAKING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 120 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
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1 Commission shall adopt a final rule establishing criteria 

2 for certification for the manufacture, sale, importation, 

3 and interstate shipment of devices that may be used pur4 suant to authorization under section 333A of the Commu5 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 333A), notwithstanding 

6 section 302 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 302). In carrying out 

7 the requirements of this subsection, the Commission shall 

8 consider whether such devices can effectively prevent, jam, 

9 or interfere with wireless communications within a correc10 tional facility (as defined in section 333A(g)(2) of that Act 

11 (47 U.S.C. 333A(g)(2))) without causing harmful inter12 ference with commercial mobile services between points 

13 outside facility boundaries, or public safety agency wire14 less communications services between points inside, pursu15 ant to a public safety agency responding to an incident 

16 in a correctional facility, and outside facility boundaries. 

17 The regulations shall require, at a minimum, that any 

18 such device— 

19 (1) operate at the lowest technically feasible 

20 transmission power that will permit correctional fa21 cility staff to prevent, jam, or interfere with wireless 

22 communications within the geographic boundaries of 

23 a correctional facility by individuals held in the facil24 ity; 
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1 (2) be capable of directionalized operation and 

2 limited to approved frequencies; 

3 (3) comply with any other technical standards 

4 deemed necessary or appropriate by the Commission 

5 to ensure that the device does not create interference 

6 to other than the targeted wireless communications; 

7 (4) be marketed and sold only to correctional 

8 facility supervisory authority (as defined in section 

9 333A(g) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

10 U.S.C. 333A(g)) authorized by the Commission 

11 under section 333A) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 333A) 

12 to possess and operate such a device; and 

13 (5) is capable of being shut off from jamming 

14 public safety agency communications within and 

15 around a correctional facility when a public safety 

16 agency is responding to an incident at the facility, 

17 such as a fire, explosion, medical emergency, or oth18 erwise. 

19 (b) TECHNICIAN CREDENTIALING.—As part of the 

20 rulemaking proceeding required by subsection (a), the 

21 Commission shall seek public comment on whether to es22 tablish minimum training, certification, and eligibility re23 quirements for technicians qualified to work on jamming 

24 systems installed and operated by a supervisory authority. 

25 The Commission may establish such training, certification, 
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1 and eligibility criteria as part of the final rule adopted 

2 under subsection (a). 

3 (c) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—The Commission 

4 shall conduct field testing of proposed devices to determine 

5 whether they can operate without causing harmful inter6 ference with commercial mobile service communications 

7 outside the boundaries of such a correctional facility or 

8 public safety agency wireless communications inside, pur9 suant to a public safety entity responding to an incident 

10 in a correctional facility, and outside the boundaries of 

11 such a correctional facility. The Commission shall conduct 

12 such testing through a public testing process and program. 

13 After the date on which the final rule promulgated under 

14 subsection (a) is published in the Federal Register, the 

15 Commission shall grant or deny an application for certifi16 cation of a device described in subsection (a) within 120 

17 calendar days of receiving an application therefor. 

18 (d) LIST OF DEVICES.—The Commission shall main19 tain a list of all approved devices on its web site including 
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1 the make and model of each approved device and its tech2 nical specifications and operating parameters. 

Passed the Senate October 5, 2009. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 251 

AN ACT 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to perices within prison facilities. mit targeted interference with mobile radio serv-