Fact Sheet: Ensuring Just, Reasonable, and Fair Rates for Inmate Calling Services

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn ask their fellow commissioners to consider an item that will ensure that the rates for inmate calling services (ICS) are just, reasonable, and fair for all types of calls: local, long distance, and international.

Under the leadership of Commissioner Clyburn as acting chair, in 2013 the FCC capped interstate calling rates, reining in high rates for long-distance calls across state lines. Now, in partnership with Commissioner Clyburn, Chairman Wheeler is proposing to cap rates for ALL ICS calls -- local, long distance, and international -- while limiting or banning excessive fees on calls. These new caps reduce the average rates for the vasts majority of inmate calls substantially, from $2.96 to no more than $1.65 for a 15-minute intrastate call, and from $3.15 to no more than $1.65 for a 15-minute interstate call.