Can't I use my phone in Columbia, South Carolina?

Columbia, South Carolina (AP)-This week, federal officials supervised the testing of cell phone signal portable jammer technology in South Carolina prisons, hoping that the technology will help resist threats. Officials told the Associated Press that prisoners used Mobile phone smuggling.

Officials at the Ministry of Justice said the test was conducted in Kuanhe Correctional Institution for five days. The prison is the highest security prison in Columbia, South Carolina. Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams told the Associated Press that this is the first time federal officials have cooperated with state prison officials to conduct such tests.

The test marked progress at the national level in efforts to end the use of prohibited mobile phones, and officials said that this has long been a major threat to the safety of their institutions. Last year, micro-jamming technology was tested in federal prisons-officials said that when the device is operating within a distance of 6 meters, they can cut off the phone signal in the prison cell-but a law that has been around for decades According to regulations, local institutions have no right to disrupt public broadcasting.