New South Wales is examining the feasibility of large-scale deployment of mobile jammers in prisons, and while a five-year trial of the technology at Lithgow Prison was deemed a success, there are still challenges in rolling out the technology. The Lithgow trial, which began in September 2013, showed the technology was effective at stopping prisoners using mobile phones illegally.signal jammer However, mobile telecommunications industry bodies are wary of rolling out the jammers across the state, arguing the success of this trial does not mean the jammers will work in all prisons.cell phone jammer

Successes and Limitations of the Lithgow Experiment
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) reported last month that it had received no reports of the technology interfering with mobile services in nearby areas since the trial began.GPS jammer This result shows that the location and environment of Lithgow Prison are conducive to isolating interference signals from the surrounding telecommunications environment. However, this success may not be replicated in other prisons. For example, Goulburn Prison, located between Sydney and Canberra, is surrounded by residential areas. The deployment of jammers may cause interference to mobile services in residential areas.

Industry support and prudence
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) and the Communications Alliance, which represent mobile telecommunications companies, backed the success of the Lithgow trial but made clear it did not mean they would support the same approach in other prisons. In a joint submission to ACMA, the two agencies noted that as each prison's environment is unique and the isolated environment at Lithgow would be difficult to replicate elsewhere, the deployment of disruptors at each facility would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. This means the correctional service will need to obtain individual exemption decisions for each prison from ACMA, rather than rolling out the technology across the board.

Exploration of alternative technologies
Recognizing the difficulties of rolling out jammers, the New South Wales government has said it may use alternative technology to stop prisoners using mobile phones. These alternative technologies include signal detectors, metal detectors and enhanced security measures. Although these measures cannot completely replace jammers, they can reduce the illegal use of mobile phones by prisoners to a certain extent.

Impact of future technology
Communications Alliance and AMTA stressed that any future arrangements for jammers would need to have built-in review mechanisms to review the impact of the technology on future 5G operations. As 5G networks are rolled out, the deployment of jammers may have an impact on wider communications networks. Therefore, in the process of promoting jammers, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the development and changes of future communication technology.