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.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The confusion is understandable because there are a lot of services competing for your attention, and not all of them are straightforward about what they actually do.
Here is how to think about it. GTL, now rebranded as Viapath, is the phone carrier contracted to your husband's facility. If GTL holds that contract, every call he makes goes through their system regardless of what number he dials. You cannot replace GTL. What you can do is change the number he dials...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, and this is one of the less talked-about benefits of the service.
When an inmate makes calls through the facility's phone carrier, every number they dial has to be submitted and approved in advance. That approval process requires the person on the outside to register their phone number with the carrier, which means your name, number, and in some cases your address go into that system. For people on a family plan, a work phone, or any situation where the...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The honest answer is that the provider matters less than the number, and the number matters because of how the BOP prices calls.
Local calls in the federal system run $0.06 per minute. Long-distance calls run $0.21 per minute. That $0.15 per minute difference is where the money goes, and if your inmate is on the phone regularly, it goes fast. Three hundred minutes at long-distance rates costs $63. Three hundred minutes at the local rate costs $18. Same conversations, same...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
sometimes we cannot save you money so the transaction is refunded and an email explanation is sent to help you get set up properly.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
yes - 9:30 pm
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, you have to set up a pre-paid account with the phone carrier at the facility. Use the number that we provided onto their service - it is the number that makes the calls 50% cheaper, but they are not free.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, and the savings are specific enough to be worth knowing exactly.
With an Arizona 480 area code number, a 15-minute call from ASPC Yuma-Cibola runs $3.19. That is the rate your inmate is currently paying every time they dial your number. With an InmateAid local number matched to the Yuma facility, that same 15-minute call drops to $1.72. That is $1.47 saved per call.
It does not sound dramatic until you do the math across a month. If your inmate calls...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, usually at 9:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes it is, if you want to see if we can save you money, please send an email with your phone number and the facility - we will give you an honest estimate of the savings (if any)
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, and that step cannot be skipped regardless of which service you use.
The application process is controlled by the facility, not by InmateAid. Every jail and prison requires anyone who wants to receive calls from an inmate to be on that inmate's approved call list. Getting on that list means submitting an application through the facility's phone carrier, whether that is Securus, GTL, IC Solutions, or whoever holds the contract at that particular jail. That carrier will verify your information...
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