CTIA–The Wireless Association® Statement on Senate Commerce Committee’s Passage of S.251

WASHINGTON, DC – Legislation to enable the jamming of illegal cell phone use by prison inmates, the Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009 (S.251), was approved today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  The bill, authored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, would permit the Federal Communications Commission to authorize correctional facilities to operate cell phone jamming systems.  The legislation includes safeguards to ensure that signal jamming does not impair the ability of public safety officials or legitimate commercial mobile radio service customers outside a correctional institution to access wireless services.  The following is a statement from Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA–The Wireless Association®:
 
"While CTIA believes policy should favor non-interfering technologies, we appreciate Senator Hutchison’s willingness to redraft her bill to protect commercial and emergency wireless communications from interference caused by the use of jamming systems.  We are in complete alignment with the Senator on the need to prohibit wireless access by those who aren’t supposed to have it, and we commend her for the attention she has brought to this important public safety issue."

###

CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org