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Regulators Ineffectual to DateThe Federal Communications Commission and State Utilities Commissions Have Both the Authority and the Duty to Protect the Public from such Abuse
Though this arrangement is unconscionable, it has been permitted to flourish over the past 20 years, with ever-increasing commissions driving upward the costs and fees imposed on prisoner-initiated phone calls. The regulatory bodies with jurisdiction and the responsibility to protect the public have failed to curb the practice.
State Utilities Commission ProceedingsWithin this site are descriptions of proceedings in four states that have, or are grappling with this issue: North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, New Mexico, and Alabama. However, no state utilities commission has addressed this issue substantively to date, notwithstanding a specific invitation from the Federal Communications Commission that they do so. FCC Order of 21 February 2002 ¶ 29 (CC Docket No. 96-128). Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how a single state could address this problem effectively, which is national in scope. In fact, prison telephone rates are not subject to any regulation in 32 states – about 60% of the country.
The Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is vested with plenary authority and jurisdiction over this matter, and yet, for more than a decade, it has failed to act. Previous attempts at the FCC to lower rates or give prisoners and their families’ choices for IPS services have failed. But the FCC took a step in the right direction when, in a February 2002 Order, the FCC ruled that facility “commissions” cannot be considered a legitimate cost and cannot be included in calculating the cost of a call (though they are certainly included in the cost of a call). FCC Order 21 February 2002, ¶ 15, p. 8, and ¶ 38, p. 15 (CC Docket No. 96-128).
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