Incarcerated Individuals

This plan outlines Louisiana’s first coordinated effort to assess the state’s digital divide and move Louisiana toward digital equity.

Norman Vasquez often has to choose between buying soap or calling his family while serving time at Colorado’s Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility. Vasquez was one of 15 people who urged Colorado lawmakers to pass a bill that would make phone calls free to people incarcerated in state prisons and their families. The approximately 17,000 people incarcerated in the Colorado Department of Corrections pay 8 cents a minute for phone calls—or $4.80 for an hour, according to data collected by the state.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on the contours and specific requirements of the proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection for incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS).

The Aspen Institute and HP Inc. announced the selection of ten not-for-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations in Malaysia, Mexico, and South Africa for the 2023 Digital Equity Accelerator. Each organization is working toward the digital inclusion of marginalized populations and, with the support of the Accelerator, is poised to expand its reach and impact over the next six months. Selected organizations include:

The Federal Communications Commission' Wireline Competition Bureau announced that comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on issues related to the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 are due no later than May 8, 2023, and reply comments are due no later than June 6, 2023. The Notice, which seeks comment on matters related to implementing the new Act and establishing just and reasonable rates and charges for incarcerated people’s communications services, requires that comments and reply comments be filed no later than 30 days an

On January 5, 2023, President Joseph Biden signed into law the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 (Martha Wright-Reed Act) to ensure just and reasonable charges for telephone and advanced communications services in correctional and detention facilities. The law is the product of efforts by multiple individuals and committed stakeholders over a number of years to comprehensively address the persistent problem of unreasonably high rates and charges incarcerated people and their families pay for communications services.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) entered a new partnership with Ashland University (OH) to help approximately 140 incarcerated individuals, who are eligible for release within 12 months, prepare for careers in broadband and 5G this spring and summer.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on its expanded authority over incarcerated people’s communications services, as outlined in the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022. The new law gives the FCC authority to combat unjust and unreasonable rates and charges for voice and video calls, including calls within a state’s borders, where previously the agency had rate-making authority only over voice calls between states and foreign locations.

Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson is asking Pennsylvanians to provide input on the stakeholder engagement process for developing two plans: the State Digital Equity Plan and the Commonwealth’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Five-Year Action Plan. The two-week public comment period began on February 27 and ends Friday, March 10, 2023. The State Digital Equity Stakeholder Engagement Plan will focus on engaging eight primary populations required through federal guidance – aging individuals, incarcerated individuals, veterans, indivi

On March 1, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) sought public comment on the design and implementation of two components of the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act): the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program and the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program.