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by Aleks Kajstura
The prison and jail phone industry has been busy recently, urging the Federal Communications Commission to roll back regulations and allow companies to charge exorbitant rates and fees for calls. Meanwhile, we've submitted a few comments of our own, highlighting bloated payment fees and showing that phone services in jails require regulation just like in the prisons.
Although we, and the FCC, have suspected that phone companies take a cut of the fees charged by third party payment services such as Western Union, we were finally able to confirm the practice. On Monday we submitted a comment that documents the kickbacks from Western Union.
The FCC also sought additional information on the differences between jails and prisons, and whether the new phone regulations should protect people from unconscionable prices no matter where they, or their family members, are incarcerated. We demonstrated the industry's inability to articulate a good reason to roll back regulations of jail phone services, and we urged the FCC to continue its protection for people confined in jails.
We also signed on to reply comments, along with Martha Wright, et. al, The D.C. Prisoners' Legal Services Project, CURE, and the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, urging the FCC to regulate fees, in-state calling, as well as tackling other issues.
by Aleks Kajstura
Recently, prison phone companies took the FCC to court for the right to charge the families of incarcerated people exorbitant rates for talking to their loved ones in prison. (Securus Technologies v. FCC and United States of America (D.C. Cir. Docket No. 13-1280)). Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals granted a partial stay of the FCC's new prison phone regulations, but allowed the new rate caps to take effect on February 11.
Communications Daily reports that the Court
kept in place the interim rate cap of 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls, and 25 cents a minute for collect calls. It put on hold three other sections of the FCC's rules: the requirement that rates and ancillary services be "cost-based"; low safe-harbor rates that presume charges are reasonable; and the annual reporting requirement.
The article quotes Peter Wagner's analysis of the order:
It is important that the court left intact the most important and immediate of the FCC’s reforms... [b]ut I'm disappointed that the court stayed three sections of the FCC's order, including the section that reined in the fees....Those fees can double the price of a call.... With new fairer rates, Global Tel*Link will make far more from deposit fees than from multiple 15-minute calls.
Several FCC commissioners were also disappointed in the ruling, but optimistic. Chairman Tom Wheeler, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel issued a joint statement highlighting how even having the partial regulation remain in effect is still a significant stride toward more reasonable phone bills:
We are pleased that millions of families will finally see relief from outrageous rates for inmate calling services when the interim rate caps... go into effect in February 2014. These families have been forced to pay exorbitant rates for far too long. Although we are disappointed that the court granted a partial stay on other aspects of the Inmate Calling Services Order, we look forward to a hearing on the merits soon, and to adopting further reforms quickly.
We are among the organizations intervening in the lawsuit, stay tuned for updates!
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