On July 18, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to end exorbitant phone and video call rates that have burdened incarcerated people and their families for decades.
Under the new rules, the FCC reports that 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. Costs for video calls will also be capped for the first time at 11 to 25 cents a minute, which is about a 25% reduction from current costs.
The ABA applauds these changes, which have been a long time coming. There have been legislative efforts to cap phone rates for incarcerated people held in federal, state, and local facilities since 2005.
ABA policy included in Standard 23-8.7 of the Criminal Justice Standards for the treatment of prisoners supports facilities charging the lowest possible rate to promote important family connections for rehabilitation and reintegration purposes, taking into account security needs. In-person visits with families are not always feasible, making these telephone and video connections that much more important to preserving relationships that are essential to reentry planning during incarceration.
In 2016, the FCC established phone rate caps that the ABA celebrated, but in in 2017, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that the FCC exceeded its authority by attempting to regulate in-state calls. In 2021, the FCC set new caps but only for interstate and international calls.
Finally in 2023, Congress gave the FCC authority to regulate even in-state calls by passing the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act signed by President Biden. Passage of that Act broadened the FCC’s authority, allowing it to act last week under its new authority to lower caps, including for in-state and video calls.