Texas prisons could soon gain the authority to jam signals from smuggled cellphones, potentially preventing inmates from directing crimes outside prison walls. The proposed change follows years of restrictions on the technology, even as Texas correctional officials continue recovering hundreds of unauthorized devices.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday that commissioners will vote November 19 on rules allowing state and local prisons and jails to deploy cellphone-jamming equipment for the first time. The proposal could fundamentally change how correctional facilities combat illegal communications, although concerns remain about interference with emergency calls and nearby wireless networks.
BREAKING: @BrendanCarrFCC Announces Vote to Permit Prisons to Jam Contraband Cellphones Alongside @SenTomCotton & @AGTimGriffin
“For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using… https://t.co/y3NzP5xqv2 pic.twitter.com/clyW4LFtL3
— FCC (@FCC) October 28, 2026
Texas Prisons Face A Persistent Cellphone Smuggling Problem
In April, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced that investigators had seized more than 100 cellphones during a January operation targeting drone deliveries at the Mark W. Michael Unit in Tennessee Colony.
Seven civilians were arrested on organized crime charges, including a former correctional officer from Dallas and suspects from Plano and Krum.
Investigators also confiscated methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids, and other prohibited items.
At the Dallas suspect’s apartment, authorities reported finding additional cellphones, approximately 30 pounds of tobacco, and receipts for dozens of recently purchased phones.
The problem extends beyond individual smuggling operations.
During a statewide prison lockdown in 2023, Texas authorities recovered 584 cellphones and 713 cellphone accessories, according to the department’s final report.
The proposed FCC rules would address what happens after those devices enter a prison: whether inmates can continue using them to communicate with people outside.
Why The Federal Decision Is Significant
Federal communications law has historically prevented state and local correctional facilities from operating radio-frequency jammers because of restrictions against interfering with authorized wireless transmissions.
The FCC began reconsidering those restrictions through a September 30, 2025, rulemaking proposing to authorize non-federal prison jamming under specified conditions.
The October 28 announcement moves that process toward a final vote.
If approved, the rules would establish a licensing framework allowing eligible correctional facilities to operate approved jamming equipment within designated containment areas.
Facilities would have to satisfy technical requirements intended to prevent harmful interference outside those boundaries.
The authorization would be voluntary. Prisons would not automatically receive permission to begin blocking cellular signals.
North Texas Cases Show How Phones Enter Prisons
The threat posed by contraband cellphones is not limited to state correctional institutions.
In October 2022, The Dallas Express reported that Bryant LeRay Henderson pleaded guilty after flying a drone carrying cellphones, methamphetamine, THC, and other contraband into Federal Medical Center Fort Worth.
The drone crashed inside the facility’s secured perimeter.
Investigators also recovered flight records showing drone activity over Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville.
More recently, The Dallas Express reported in March that two North Texas women were accused of using a drone carrying hollowed-out plastic crow decoys stuffed with drugs, tobacco, and cellphones to target a federal prison in Louisiana.
Those cases involved federal facilities, while the pending FCC rules specifically address state and local prisons and jails. Nevertheless, they document the challenges correctional authorities face in preventing illegal devices from entering secured institutions.
Officials Warn Inmates Are Directing Crimes From Prison
Carr announced the proposal during a law enforcement roundtable in Little Rock, Arkansas, alongside U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.
“For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises,” Carr said in the FCC’s October 28 announcement.
The chairman also cited inmates using unauthorized devices to exploit children, including the creation of child sexual abuse material.
Cotton has pursued legislation addressing the restrictions.
His Cellphone Jamming Reform Act, introduced March 26, 2025, seeks to prevent federal restrictions from blocking correctional facilities’ use of jamming systems against prohibited communications.
The FCC’s proposal would pursue authorization through the agency’s regulatory process rather than waiting for legislation.
The 911 Debate: Illegal Phones Have Also Disrupted Emergency Services
One of the central objections to prison cellphone jamming involves the possibility of disrupting emergency communications.
Wireless industry association CTIA has warned that jamming equipment can interfere with legitimate cellphone service, including 911 calls.
But the debate also raises a separate question: How should federal regulators balance those risks against the ability of inmates to exploit emergency-calling features on cellphones they are prohibited from possessing?
A coalition of 23 state attorneys general, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, directly addressed that question in a December 23, 2025, letter supporting the FCC’s proposed authorization.
The attorneys general argued that most prisons have alternative methods of contacting emergency services and that the dangers associated with contraband cellphones outweigh concerns about jamming.
They cited an incident around 2019 at Georgia’s Macon State Prison, where inmates allegedly discovered they could bypass a wireless containment system by dialing 911.
According to the attorneys general, inmates used contraband phones to overwhelm and shut down a 911 center serving a 13-county emergency communications system.
The incident, as described in the letter, demonstrates that unauthorized prison cellphones can themselves threaten emergency communications.
The distinction is significant.
Protecting an inmate’s ability to place an emergency call from an illegal device is not the same as protecting lawful cellphone users, correctional officers, or emergency responders from interference caused by jamming equipment.
The FCC’s proposed framework is intended to address the latter concern through containment requirements, licensing, advance notifications, and technical testing.
Whether those safeguards can consistently prevent interference outside correctional facilities remains an important consideration.
What Happens Next For Texas?
If commissioners approve the rules November 19, Texas correctional authorities could seek permission to deploy approved cellphone-jamming technology.
The equipment would not eliminate the need for searches, investigations, drone detection, or other security measures. It also would not prevent drugs and other physical contraband from entering facilities.
Instead, jamming would target the ability of unauthorized devices to connect to cellular networks within approved areas.
The proposal does not establish how many Texas facilities would apply, how much equipment and maintenance would cost, or when approved systems could begin operating.
For Texas prisons that have already confiscated hundreds of illegal cellphones, the upcoming FCC vote could provide another means of disrupting communications between inmates and criminal associates outside prison walls.
The decision is scheduled for November 19.
