FCC Caps Exorbitant Phone & Video Call Rates for Incarcerated Persons & Their Families

The Federal Communications Commission voted to end exorbitant phone and video call rates that have burdened incarcerated people and their families for decades. Under the new rules, the cost of a 15-minute phone call will drop to $0.90 from as much as $11.35 in large jails and, in small jails, to $1.35 from $12.10. The new rules also, for the first time, address the exorbitant cost of video visitation calls, dropping those prices to less than a quarter of current prices and requiring per-minute rate options based on consumers’ actual usage. The rules also prohibit “site commission” payments and bar added fees to incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS) services. Communities nationwide benefit from incarcerated people staying connected to their families. The recently adopted Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act empowered the FCC to close the final loopholes in the communications system which has had detrimental effects on families and recidivism rates nationwide.