It’s easy to buy devices on the Internet that will scramble wireless signals for cellphones, GPS signals, Wi-Fi systems, and more. Jammers work by flooding an area with noise that covers the radio tapes to be caught. Since these are inexpensive devices that are not approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), they often broadcast noise in other bands. A US cell band is adjacent to the 800 MHz band where Nextel, certain public security, government and business systems are deployed, so it is likely that these signals will be interfered with with the target bands.
signal jammer are used in schools, restaurants and other places where homeowners want to prevent people from making and receiving phone calls while inside. Recently, prisons have begun to consider deploying jammers to prevent inmates from using cell phones in prison. It is illegal to have a cell phone inside a prison, but again, this does not seem to prevent inmates from owning it.
Recently, a number of prisons have come together to ask the FCC to allow jamming inside their walls and are awaiting a decision. This way of “fixing” the problem has a number of problems, the most important of which is that the guards will not be able to use their cell phones and that if the prison radio frequency is near one of the groups of phones cell phones, chances are they can’t even use their walkie-talkies. If paramedics, police, or firefighters are called into a prison and their radio system is in the 800 MHz band, it is quite possible that once inside the prison doors, they will lose their own communications.
The real solution is NOT to allow jammers. Since most people do not understand the consequences of installing a jammer, this could trigger a rush from other people who believe that if prisons can use jammers, they should be able to use them.
As a cell phone subscriber, I expect to have the right to use my phone almost anywhere. Where it is not welcome in places such as doctors’ offices, theaters and some restaurants, a sign is usually displayed to inform those entering that cell phones should not be used indoors. Mel Samples, who runs a wireless consulting firm in Los Angeles and with whom we have worked closely over the years, has a better approach to the problem of cell phone use in prisons. In a recent post on the Private Wireless Forum, a special interest group from Yahoo, Mel said.