Prison phone calls are one of the most important lifelines between an incarcerated person and their family, and one of the most expensive. The prison phone industry has historically operated as a near-monopoly charging rates that few other consumer services would get away with. This section covers how the prison phone system works, why rates are so high and what has changed in recent years, how debit calling accounts function, how to get a number approved on an inmate's call list, how InmateAid's local number service reduces call costs by up to 70 percent, and what international callers need to know about reaching a US facility from another country. The questions answered here come from families who are paying too much for calls and from inmates trying to navigate phone access from inside. Understanding how the system works is the first step toward getting the most contact for the least cost. See also our sections on Money Transfer and Commissary.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Send us your number and the facility name - we will give you an honest estimate before you sign-up. Our service does not replace Telmate, it works to make their service cheaper for you to use...reducing the cost of each call.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Securus has the pricing structure backwards compared to most phone carriers. With a normal phone plan, local calls are cheaper than long-distance calls. Securus flips that entirely. With Securus, calls to numbers within the same state as the facility are actually the most expensive. Calls to out-of-state numbers cost significantly less. Your inmate figured this out from the inside, and he is right.
So if you are in the same state as the facility he is at, your local number is...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
You will not be able to figure out who it is she is calling. There is one way to stem the usage, it is to get a number from us (for the Discount Calling) and only put money on that number. If you give her commissary money SHE controls the way it's spent. If you put our number on a pre-paid service, it will only connect the one number you are registering. You can email us (aid@inmateaid.com) the name of...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
All federal prisons follow the same rules for phones. The phones are available from 6am - 3:30p and from 4:30p - 9:30p during the week. On weekends and holidays the phones are on from 6am - 9:30am; 10:30a - 3:30p and from 4:30p - 9:30p. The main reason is COUNT TIME. All inmate are counted at their bedside. The phones turn off so that the inmates have time to get to where they are supposed to be for COUNT TIME....
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The phone service at a particular correctional center is set up through bid process. Whichever company has the contract for all inmate outbound calling and to tape record the calls - essentially has a monopoly. Therefore, you have to use them to receive any calls. The choice is whether you pay them for a long distance call (to your number) or a local call (to a number that we get you). If you are already local, we cannot save you...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Usually the lag time is between 1-3 weeks. There is an orientation period that the inmate has to complete before they are allowed to submit their phone list. Without knowing where your inmate is incarcerated we are guessing as to the actual time you'll have to wait.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Your phone line is active and ready to receive calls as soon as you receive the confirmation email with the number. That email goes out when the account is set up, so if you got it, the line is live.
The quickest way to verify everything is working on your end is to call the InmateAid number from a different phone and confirm that it rings through to the forwarding number you provided when you signed up. If it rings correctly,...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
We are not a replacement for the prison phone service, we make their service cheaper by providing you a number that will charge you their lowest possible rate. You have to register the number we have provided on their service to receive calls. It is the price difference between local and long distance why people use our service. Therefore, you have to pay Global Tel for every call whether you use us or not, but in your case, the call...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
InmateAid does not replace Securus, but it can make Securus significantly cheaper. The way it works is that Securus charges different rates depending on the type of number the call is going to, and those rates vary by carrier and location in ways that are not obvious to the person receiving calls. InmateAid finds the phone number in their system that triggers Securus's lowest available rate for your specific facility, and provides you with a forwarding number that routes calls...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The phone service at a particular correctional center is set up through bid process. Whoever has the contract for all inmate outbound calling and to tape record the calls - has essentially a monopoly. Therefore, you have to use them to receive any calls and they do not have anyone competing . The choice is whether you pay them for a long distance call (to your number) or a local call (to a number that we get you). If you...
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