FCC pushes states on prison calling rates

The Federal Communications Commission is pressuring state governments to make it more affordable for prisoners to make phone calls.

“The FCC has both the duty and the authority to act … if the states do not or cannot,” FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said during an agency workshop on inmate calling. Last year, then-Acting Chairwoman Clyburn took steps to bring down the price of interstate calling for prisoners, including setting a temporary interstate rate cap. Now the FCC has its eyes set on making that interstate rate cap permanent, addressing ancillary fees and bringing down calling prices for in-state calls, Commissioner Clyburn and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said.