FCC slashes per-minute phone costs for inmates

July 18 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission has capped the rates inmates pay for phone and video calls, officials announced Thursday.

The new rules will affect about 2 million inmates, and mean the cost of a 15-minute phone call will drop from as much as $11.35 in some cases to 90 cents in large jails and from $12.10 to $1.35 in smaller ones, the FCC said in a release.

"Communities nationwide benefit from incarcerated people staying connected to their families," the commission said.

Jails and prisons are notorious for charging exorbitant by-the-minute telephone fees for inmates who are only able to make menial wages, if any, while incarcerated. They often have to save enough money just to pay for a few minutes of phone time.

The new rules are based on the service providers' costs and eliminate any hidden fees and arbitrary charges that drive up per-minute costs for inmates.

"The rules also lower the overall prices consumers pay by eliminating the ability to impose separate ancillary service charges," the release said.

"And, for the first time, the rules set interim per-minute rate caps for video communications, including video visitation."

The new call rates will be 6 cents per minute for prisons and large jails, 7 cents for medium jails, 9 cents for small jails and 12 cents for very small jails.

Rates could be as low as 11 cents per minute for video calls in jails with more than 1,000 inmates, and capped at 25 cents in those with fewer than 100. For the first time, carriers will be required to offer per-minute rates.

The new rates seek to take on "the unconscionable rates families of the incarcerated pay for communications," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. "The price of an individual call can be as much as many of us pay for an unlimited monthly plan."

Rosenworcel added that inmates having the ability to hear families voices or see them on video conference has the potential to reduce the recidivism rate for inmates currently serving time.

Congress allowed the FCC to limit the cost of phone and video calls in 2023 after caps that were set in 2017 in the District of Columbia were reversed.