Maryland company installing technology to block cell phone use at Lee Correctional

Maryland company installing technology to block cell phone use at Lee Correctional
Published: Apr. 18, 2018 at 4:33 PM EDT|Updated: Apr. 18, 2018 at 4:42 PM EDT
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COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A Maryland based company is in the process of installing equipment inside Lee Correctional Institution that will block cell phone usage inside the prison.

The company, Tecore Networks, entered into a 3-year contract worth $1.5 million with the South Carolina Department of Corrections to install the system. According to the DOC, it will allow authorized calls to go through but blocks others in a precisely defined target area.

The system will be installed by the end of next month but is already in use in one housing unit at LCI that was not involved in Sunday's violence.

MORE: Will jamming cell phone signals end the violence at SC prisons?

"The way that this technology is being implemented here at SCDC is the best legal alternative to contraband cellphone jamming that we have available," SCDOC Director Bryan Stirling, said.

"While we believe it is the best legal form of contraband cell phone deterrence it is very different than blocking, it is less effective, more expensive, and utilizes more internal institutional resources."

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