SJC Exchange Library

This blog post from the Prison Policy Initiative explains how the Federal Communications Commission has voted to raise the rate caps on phone and video calls for incarcerated individuals, reversing significant savings that had previously been instituted. The new caps allow increases as high as 83% for phone calls and 64% for video calls compared to rates last year. The decision came after lobbying from jails and phone-service companies, and includes changes like a facility fee, an added “safety and security” cost component, and a category for very small jails with even higher allowable rates. The result is that families of incarcerated people may face higher communication costs while facilities and service providers profit.