Texas Department of Criminal Justice Cancels CellAntenna’s “Cell Phone” Jamming Demonstration

(SANEPR.com) December 17, 2008 -- Coral Springs, FL/December 15, 2008 – CellAntenna Corporation announces that it has received notification from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that the Department was canceling the “cell phone jamming” demonstration that was slated for December 18th at 10 AM CST at Travis State Jail. The cancellation came despite the strong support for the demonstration by Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas State Representative Jerry Madden (R-Plano), and Texas State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston). The Department of Criminal Justice stated that they were canceling the event as it would be illegal under the Communications Act of 1934 which CellAntenna is challenging.

“I am shocked that theDepartment of the Criminal Justice of the State of Texas is canceling the ‘cell phone jamming’ demonstration at the last minute,” said Howard Melamed, President and CEO of CellAntenna Corporation. “I have never heard of Texans ever backing down before from threats and outside pressure. I can only think that perhaps outside pressure, perhaps from CTIA, was put upon Texas’ authorities as we saw when we held a similar demonstration in South Carolina.

“This is an issue of public safety,” continued Melamed. “CellAntenna was not charging the State of Texas a dime nor selling equipment to the State. Rather it was demonstrating technology, which if allowed under federal law, would help law enforcement and ensure that the public is protected from criminals behind bars. Demonstrating technology is legal. However, inmates acquiring cell phones, have them smuggled into prisons to order further crimes against victims of domestic abuse, conduct drug deals, and even order murders is illegal.”

“I do want to applaud Governor Perry, Representative Madden, and Senator Whitmire for the leadership they took on this issue,” concluded Melamed. “I only regret that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not follow their lead and put public safety first. With 66 million dollars of the public money about to be spent next year on equipment to try to solve the problem of cell phones in prison, you would think they would like to look at the alternatives that may save the public a lot of money.”

In 2005, CellAntenna Corporation mounted a judicial challenge to the constitutionality of the FCC restrictions, seeking to permit the use of cellular jamming devices by state and local governments and first responders. After the United States District Court Southern District of Florida in Miami ruled that it lacked jurisdiction, CellAntenna filed a Petition for Rulemaking before the FCC to allow state and local governments to use jamming equipment. The CTIA, (the organization representing the cellular providers) opposes CellAntenna’s position.

The 1934 Communications Act prohibits local and state law enforcement from using jamming devices. CellAntenna has been leading a national legal challenge to give local and state law enforcement the power to jam such illegal activity. Texas Governor Rick Perry has recently joined a growing chorus of officials urging a change in the 1934 Communications Act to allow state law enforcement, particularly correctional officers, the right to use “cell-jamming” devices. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and correction’s facilities nationally are confronted with a growing threat to the safety and security of the public and corrections’ staff – unauthorized use of cell phones in prisons. The illegal use of cell phones in prisons allows prisoners to coordinate and conduct criminal activity from behind bars. Indeed, in October, Texas State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) received death threats by an inmate on death row with an illegal cell phone that had been smuggled into prison.

In November of this year, CellAntenna held a “cell phone jamming” demonstration in South Carolina identical to the one that was to be held in Texas. Fifteen minutes before the demonstration was to begin, former Congressman Steve Largent, the current President and CEO of CTIA called South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (whom Largent served with in Congress) requesting that the Governor cancel the demonstration. Governor Sanford adamantly refused saying that he supported the demonstration and stood behind it.

For inmates, the “New Cash” cell phones are easy to smuggle into prisons since they are easy to conceal. Once inside the prison, inmates use obtainable prepaid calling cards to continue their criminal activities. In some cases they have even used cell phones to coordinate smuggling activities between prisons as well as harass witnesses for pending trials. The problem is especially evident in the United States as the law is outdated compared to other countries who have tackled this problem head on.

About CellAntenna Corporation
Headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida, and offices in England and Poland, CellAntenna Corporation provides packaged, custom, and even rapid deployment cellular repeater systems for residential, commercial and government use. The company’s new products provide communication during disasters and where signal enhancement is required for saving lives. CellAntenna is involved in the limiting of cellular communication in prisons and in areas of high security. In addition, CellAntenna works on new and innovative applications for its systems and develops new, cutting-edge technologies. For more information, please visit: www.cellantenna.com.

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