CellAntenna CEO Howard Melamed Provides Additional Perspective on the Issue of Preventing Illegal Cell Phone Use in United
Cell Phone Jamming is the Only Economical Way to Stop Illegal Cell Phone Use in Most U.S. Prisons
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CellAntenna CEO and expert in wireless technology Howard Melamed today provided an additional perspective on the issue of illegal cell phone use in U.S. prisons. This commentary is in response to a recent concern workshop/webinar sponsored by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA). This workshop was conducted due to the ongoing issue of illegal cell phone use by inmates in U.S. prisons and the threat it poses to citizens and law enforcement who continue to become victims of threats and attacks from prisoners using illegal cell phones behind bars.
“The 1934 Communications Act states that it is illegal to jam authorized cell phone RF communications. However, cell phones in prisons are not authorized, since President Obama signed a bill into law in August 2010 making cell phone illegal in prisons,” said Melamed. “Properly engineered cell phone jammers are no threat to legal phones. They are the best weapon against illegal phones used by inmates.
“The telecommunications industry continues to push for the use of expensive managed access platforms as the alternative to cell phone jamming to solve this issue. The problem is they don’t have to take on the financial burden of these expensive systems. In fact, they continue to make money from the use of these phones as most of the time they are funded with prepaid cards. It is easy to tell someone to by the expensive car when you are not paying for it.”
Responding to a recent comment by a representative from ITT in a TR Daily news story that indicated it has been their experience that you cannot control jamming, Melamed said, “It is amazing that the FCC invited people to this meeting who have never installed a jamming system in a prison, and then accepts their commentary as ‘expert’ testimony. Companies that provide jamming for air craft carriers and nuclear submarines cannot simply scale down their technology to a prison. We jam prisons. We know nothing about jamming nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. It begs the question; why wasn’t a company with expertise in jamming cell phones in prisons such as ourselves invited to attend?
“If the telecommunications industry was truly serious about trying to stop the pandemic use of cell phones in prisons, they would put up the money needed to secure their products and would not simply offer advice. Talk is cheap. If the carriers don’t volunteer to pay for these systems, then their profits should be taxed. Taxpayers should not have to pay the tab when the carriers are making millions directly from the use of illegal cell phones in prisons.
“The solutions supported by the CTIA for addressing this issue are prohibitively expensive and place an undue burden on correctional facilities that already are strapped for cash. In most of the facilities in the U.S., cell phone jamming would be less than one quarter of the cost of any system the CTIA has supported to date. The CTIA’s argument that it is impossible to control jamming signals is based on outdated legislation, and the FCC and CTIA continue to refuse to appropriately authorize and sanction the use of advanced jamming technology despite witnessing multiple tests that immediately shut down mobile phones around prison auditoriums without interrupting outside cell service.
“No restrictions should be placed on Law Enforcement to stop imprisoned criminals from using cell phones to continue their criminal enterprises. The laws preventing the use of mobile phones in prisons are not impervious to criminals. Attacks resulting from the use of contraband mobile phones continue.”
About CellAntenna Corporation
CellAntenna offers solutions to either enhance or prohibit cell phone signals. For nearly a decade, the company has increased productivity and safety through the boosting of signal strength and reduction of dropped calls. Products include cellular repeaters, cell phone signal boosters and fixed wireless terminals. CellAntenna’s broad portfolio also includes solutions for cellular detection, jamming and passive handset control. Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., CellAntenna also has offices in Poland. More information is available at www.cellantenna.com and www.cjam.com.
CONTACT:
McGrath/Power Public Relations and Communications
Roger T. Fortier, 408-727-0351
rogerfortier@mcgrathpower.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America Florida
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Consumer Electronics Telecommunications Public Policy/Government Law Enforcement/Emergency Services Homeland Security Mobile/Wireless Other Policy Issues Public Policy
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