Private equity's prison phone-call businesses just got nailed by the FCC

The 3-2 vote in Washington comes two years after the FCC voted to restrict rates on inmate calls made from one state to another.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it will put caps on the costs of calls from prisons. Studies show more frequent contact between inmates and the outside world reduces recidivism rates, though with most inmates coming from low-income families, who can little afford the bill, maintaining those ties can be near impossible.

FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat, said before the vote that the cost of the calls have placed "incredible burdens" on the families of the more than 2 million people incarcerated in the U.S.

The latest action by the Federal Communications Commission — described as a "huge step forward" by one prison reform group — eliminates or limits fees commonly tacked on by the phone service providers. The FCC has countered that the cost of security features was built into the rate structure. Last Thursday, the Dallas-based tech firm along with industry leaders Global Tel Link and Telmate threatened legal action over any regulations saying they'd have a "devastating" effect on their business in a filing with the commission.

"At a facility you have a phone system that has the added value of the content being monitored, so if someone is trying to bring weapons into a facility, or intimidating a witness, these kinds of things are being scanned for in the system", said Steve Casey, the director of the Florida Sheriffs Association, which filed a petition along with the National Sheriffs Association expressing concern about the FCC proposal.

"We believe also that inmates should have this capability to call, but unfortunately these new rates in all likelihood will mean that inmates will go without the ability to call and talk to their family members", he said.

Higher-than-normal rates for calls from Texas prisons and jails have drawn criticism for several years. Even before the vote, however, a few states had voluntarily moved to reduce or ban the commissions. The new plan will set caps on phone call rates depending on the size of the prison or jail, ranging from 11 cents per minute for all state and federal prisons to 22 cents per minute for small local jails.

Why should an impoverished grandmother have to choose between medication or talking to her grandson?

She said the new rates will benefit society as a whole, not just those serving time.