FCC Votes to Nearly Double Rates for Prison Phone Calls

FCC Votes to Nearly Double Rates for Prison Phone Calls

The commission votes along party lines to set higher caps on prison phone calls, which is expected to increase costs by 83%.

FCC Vote Hikes Prison Phone Rates in Win for ViaPath and Aventiv

The Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines Tuesday to raise the limit on what prisons and jails are allowed to charge for communications services, backtracking on rules signed last year that drastically reduced the price of phone calls from correctional facilities.

IPCS Providers and Advocacy Groups Disagree on FCC's Prison-Calling Draft

Advocates for incarcerated people, corrections trade groups and prison-calling companies disagree about the FCC's draft order on incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS), according to filings last week in docket 23-62. Thirty-five House Democrats panned the item in a letter (see...

FCC to Nearly Double Call Rates for Prison and Jail Inmates

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2025 – The rates incarcerated individuals pay to call home could rise by as much as 83 percent under new rules the Federal Communications Commission expects to approve Tuesday, according to an analysis.The analysis by Worth Rises, which found that the FCC’s proposal would cut expected family savings nearly in half and reduce call volume by 66 percent, fueled advocacy efforts of the United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Min…