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The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recently stepped up its efforts to stop the use of illegal cellular phones in prisons. CellAntenna, a company that specializes in cell phone threat management, has applauded these efforts by NTIA and said that the company was ready to meet the new requirements.

 

NTIA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)), the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the National Institute of Justice, has been directed by Congress to develop a plan to investigate and evaluate how wireless jamming, detection and other technologies might be utilized for law enforcement and corrections applications in Federal and State prison facilities.

Following up an on-site test of a jamming device at the Cumberland, Md. federal correctional facility in February, NTIA recently released two reports. Both reports offered further evidence that it is 100 percent feasible to design a system that only jams cell phone communication within a facility. These systems are designed not to harm the public in any way.

 

"This is another big step forward and it would be great if the Federal Communications Commission would join with NTIA in researching more aggressive and modern solutions to the issue of illegal cell phones in prisons," said Howard Melamed, president and CEO, CellAntenna (News - Alert) Corporation. "This of course counters the CTIA's argument that it is impossible to control jamming signals. The CTIA needs to upgrade their engineering to today's standards"

 

CellAntenna claims that the company has the knowhow to meet the NTIA challenge using its jamming solutions and cell phone control technology. These solutions have already been deployed and proven to be effective in prisons, the company states. The company has worked with NTIA before and hopes that FCC will allow the company to test jamming equipment in the same controlled manner.

 

Recently, the company launched new cell phone detection solution to prevent accidents caused by locomotive engineers, bus drivers and other heavy equipment operators making calls or sending text messages while on the job. The CJAM Cell Phone (News - Alert) TrainAlert solution, to prevent major public transportation accidents and save lives, proactively alerts authorities or dispatchers when an operator is using a cell phone in time.