FCC imposes nationwide limits on ‘exorbitant’ cost of prison calls, video visits

In a sweeping action earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission lowered the cost of jail and prison communications across the country, for the first time capping prices on video calls alongside phone calls.

The move marks a watershed moment for advocates and the families of incarcerated people, who have long lobbied for reining in the rates charged by the small number of communications companies that effectively hold monopolies at correctional and detention centers.

“It is no secret that the market for communication services for incarcerated people has long been plagued by predatory fees and practices,” FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said in prepared remarks. “Today’s actions put an end to these abuses.”

The commission outlined the new rates in a July 18 press release, explaining that “call rates will be $0.06 per minute for prisons and large jails, $0.07 for medium jails, $0.09 for small jails, and $0.12 for very small jails, and as low as $0.11/minute for video calls—with a requirement that per-minute rates be offered.”

Such a comprehensive rule change was a long time coming. The FCC capped the rates for interstate and international calls in 2021, but a federal appeals court previously found it lacked legal jurisdiction over in-state calls.

By some estimates, a 15-minute in-state call placed from an average jail could cost anywhere from $3 to nearly $25—which could mean hundreds of dollars a month for inmates and their families. Some states and cities chose to make prison and jail phone calls free, but advocates believed a more cohesive approach was needed.

The tide turned in 2022 when Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, giving the FCC explicit authority to regulate both interstate and in-state prison calls.

In a statement, former FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn expressed relief that an effort she championed during her time at the agency has come full circle.

“During my tenure as Acting Chairwoman of the FCC, we stretched existing law as far as we could to provide some measure of relief for those wishing to maintain a connection, but not all those reforms survived judicial review. Clarifying legislation was necessary to put an end to these injustices,” she said.