The road to deploying mobile jammers in prisons remains challenging for the New South Wales Corrective Services Department. Although the five-year trial of the technology at Lithgow Prison was deemed successful and made the case for the permanent deployment of the technology at the facility, the mobile telecommunications industry body does not believe that this is sufficient to prove that signal jammers are suitable for use across the state. Since the Lithgow trial began in September 2013, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said it had received no reports of the technology interfering with mobile services in nearby areas. cell phone jammerHowever, the situation in other prisons may be more complicated.
Lithgow trial success and limitations
The location of Lithgow Prison made it relatively easy to isolate the jamming signals from the surrounding telecommunications environment, which was one of the important factors in the success of the trial. GPS jammer The ACMA noted that no interference with mobile services in nearby areas was found during the trial. However, prisons located near residential areas, such as Goulburn Prison, may encounter different challenges in their jammer trials. Goulburn Prison, the second jammer trial site, is located near residential areas between Sydney and Canberra, which makes the isolation of jammer signals more difficult.
Attitude and support within the industry
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) and the Communications Alliance, which represent mobile telecommunications companies, support in principle the transition of the Lithgow trial to routine deployment of the technology. However, they warned that this should not be seen as a signal for a large-scale expansion of jamming technology. “Our support for this approach at Lithgow does not mean that we would support the same approach for other facilities,” AMTA and the Communications Alliance said in a joint submission to ACMA. “As each facility has a unique environment, and in particular the isolated environment of Lithgow is unlikely to be replicated, we insist that each facility needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis.” This means that the Correctional Services Department must obtain a separate exemption decision for each prison from the ACMA.
