Finishing The Job On Prison Phone Calls

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission is about to finish its long-delayed proceeding to reform the rate structure for prisoner phone calls. The FCC has announced that it will take up the issue at its next meeting on October 22. The FCC will cap rates, allowing slightly higher rates for local jails and smaller institutions. It will allow a few fixed additional transaction fees, such as for credit card calls paid through a live operator, but ban all other ancillary fees. As in its earlier order, phone companies will have to bear the cost of site commissions and may not pass them on to prisoners. Not surprisingly, the reform effort raises many legal and policy issues.