We are talking bueracracy here, you allow them an inch, they take the road, much like the devil. Without getting into specifics think about other circumstances where the Federal Gov. has promised they would never use something against US citizens and then, as soon as it was convienent, forgot all about the promise. This is very much a case of the same. They don't need jammers, they want them, and will likely abuse them as soon as they have permission. This is how civil liberties are lost.

 

A larger issue will come to light in the near future. The bandwidth that will be auctioned off by the FCC will almost certainly be partly used for broadband. Almost-president Obama is on record being behind making broadband available to everybody in the U.S.

Do prisons then become little RF black holes? Or will the warden be clever enough to protect the prison network from bluesnarfing cons? Or do you just move 20 miles away from the prison to get cell, tv, and broadband?

 

Very interesting topics. Perhaps we can be "self-made" CIA after reading this thread

 

I've only been in one jail. (I helped build it.) There was so much re-bar in the walls that cell phones would only work in the staff & visitors' cafeteria. Repeaters had to be installed for the guards' radios to work.

Are there any FCC regulations against building a Faraday cage the outer walls of a prison? (I realize cost may be prohibitive.)

Surely a simple fine mesh would do - that couldn't be so expensive that they couldn't impliment it.