Written
by: Curtis A Brown
Photograph by: Credit Daniel Rosenbaum for The
New York Times
FCC 13-113 Overview
On
August 9, 2013 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a new rule, FCC 13-113, which imposes a strict inmate interstate call
rate cap. The new rule, which will
affect only calls made from one state to another, requires inmate communication
providers to charge no more than $0.21 per minute for interstate prepaid calling
and $0.25 per minute for interstate collect calling. It also suggests that further regulation may
be still to come, including ancillary charges as well as video visitation
services. Furthermore, the FCC strongly
recommends that the states themselves adopt new regulation capping inmate call
rates. Many of our clients have asked if
further regulation is on the horizon and what they can expect in the coming
months.
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Written
by James C. Lowery
An
Advanced Solution for Inmate Visitation
Onsite video visitation systems for communicating with inmates
have been available since 1995 using Closed-Circuit
Television (CCTV). But recent strides in technology and service has
brought video visitation into the 21st century. Online
video visitation allows inmates’ family and friends to visit inmates via
personal, secure Internet video conferencing from the comfort of their homes. The service is similar
to video conferencing programs people use every day, but it is specially designed for the correctional environment, with secure
video monitoring, pre-scheduled visit time allocations and the ability for the
Detention Facility to easily store, recall and review individual visits. Legacy recently
installed its newly minted remote video visitation system at the Dona
Ana County Detention Center in New Mexico.
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Written
by Cyrus Heravi
A recent Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) ruling 13-113 places a 21 cent per minute limit on interstate prepaid calls and a 25 cent per minute on interstate collect
calls.
FCC
Rule 13-113 Background
Like
most industries today, the inmate communications industry is experiencing a
shift in business as usual. The days of exorbitantly high calling rates and
rejected calls to friends and family who cannot afford a simple phone
conversation— these days are coming to an end. While we at Legacy believe
that affordable rates for friends and family is essential to inmate
rehabilitation and a healthier community, the new FCC ruling does present new
challenges for the corrections industry and the vendors who provide secure
communication services.
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