Move is latest attempt to reform overlooked corner of telecom world
Regulators are taking aim at prison phone-call charges.
The Federal Communications Commission has circulated to its members a proposal to impose strict rate caps on the amount telecoms charge for all phone calls-local, in-state and interstate-to and from prison inmates.
The move is the latest attempt to reform an overlooked corner of the telecommunications world and follows a set of less-stringent rules that were imposed two years ago and covered only interstate calls. At that time, the FCC put a temporary rate cap on those calls.
The proposed changes are expected be voted on later this month.
The inmate-calling market is largely covered by three companies, Global Tel*Link Corp., Securus Technologies Inc. and Telmate LLC, which the FCC says represented about 85% of industry revenue in 2013. The companies have come under fire in the past for charging steep rates that ran as high as $17 or more for a 15-minute call, before the regulators stepped in.
Regulators are taking aim at prison phone-call charges.
The Federal Communications Commission has circulated to its members a proposal to impose strict rate caps on the amount telecoms charge for all phone calls-local, in-state and interstate-to and from prison inmates.
The move is the latest attempt to reform an overlooked corner of the telecommunications world and follows a set of less-stringent rules that were imposed two years ago and covered only interstate calls. At that time, the FCC put a temporary rate cap on those calls.
The proposed changes are expected be voted on later this month.
The inmate-calling market is largely covered by three companies, Global Tel*Link Corp., Securus Technologies Inc. and Telmate LLC, which the FCC says represented about 85% of industry revenue in 2013. The companies have come under fire in the past for charging steep rates that ran as high as $17 or more for a 15-minute call, before the regulators stepped in.
A spokeswoman from Telmate said the company is monitoring the FCC proposal but declined to make executives available. Global Tel*Link President Jeff Haidinger declined to comment until the company reviews the full order from the FCC. Officials from Securus weren’t immediately available for comment.
Under the rules, rates will be capped as will service charges that the FCC said could add almost 40% to the cost of a single call. It also bans flat-rate calling, which would charge for a call of up to 15 minutes regardless of the length of the call.
For state and federal prisons, which the FCC said includes 71% of inmates, a 15-minute call will be capped at $1.65. Jails have higher caps, because of their higher relative costs, that vary depending on their size.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who passed the original reform when she was interim chairwoman in 2013, said in a blog post Wednesday that cheaper rates help “prevent inmates returning home as strangers, which increases the likelihood of recidivism.”
If passed, the changes are expected to go into effect in early 2016. The proposal also includes an FCC commitment to re-evaluate the rules in two years to determine whether adjustments are needed.
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