The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently voted to lower the price caps on prison phone calls, addressing a longstanding issue that has imposed significant financial burdens on incarcerated individuals and their families. This decision will notably reduce the cost of both interstate and intrastate calls, with the latter being regulated for the first time.
According to the FCC, the new regulations will cut the price of a 15-minute phone call to $0.90 from as much as $11.35 in large jails, and to $1.35 from up to $12.10 in smaller facilities. These measures are set to take effect in January 2025 for larger prisons and jails with at least 1,000 inmates, while smaller jails will follow in April 2025.
The advocacy group Worth Rises estimates that the new rules will impact around 83 percent of incarcerated individuals, potentially saving families up to $500 million annually (Worth Rises).
New Authority Over Intrastate Calls
While the FCC had previously been able to control the rates of interstate calls, it lacked the authority to set prices for intrastate calls. This limitation was addressed with the passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act in January 2023, which was signed into law by President Biden. Named after a grandmother who fought for lower prison phone rates, the law grants the FCC the ability to regulate intrastate calls and video communications, closing what it described as the final loopholes in the communications system.
Previously, the FCC imposed varied price caps on interstate calls, with rates ranging from $0.14 to $0.21 per minute, depending on the facility size. Moving forward, uniform price caps of $0.06 to $0.12 per minute will apply to both interstate and intrastate calls. The new regulations come as a result of years of effort by the FCC to make prison phone rates more equitable, a struggle that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel acknowledged was not always supported by the courts.
For more information on the FCC’s decision, visit Ars Technica.