Court Stops FCC's Latest Attempt To Lower Prison Phone Rates (arstechnica.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Prison phone companies have convinced a court to halt new rate caps on inmate calling for the second time this month. The first stay was issued March 7 and prevented the FCC from implementing new rate caps of 11 cents to 22 cents per minute on both interstate and intrastate calls from prisons. But the stay -- which remains in place while the prison phone companies' lawsuit against the FCC is still pending -- did not disturb an earlier "interim" cap of 21 cents to 25 cents per minute that applied only to interstate calls, those that cross state lines. The order also didn't specifically object to the FCC changing its definition of "inmate calling service" to include both interstate and intrastate calls. Seizing on this ambiguity, the FCC decided that it could impose the interim caps on both interstate and intrastate calls. But prison phone companies Securus Technologies, Global Tel Link (GTL), and Telmate all asked the federal appeals court to stop the caps from being applied to intrastate calls. A court order issued Wednesday sided with the prison phone companies, saying that "petitioners have satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review." As a result, the interim rate caps will still apply only to interstate calls.

Comments

Re:This is evil, and incompetence at so many level

[Frosty Piss]

American Flags are made in prisons by people paid $2 an hour. You like having your flag that says "Made in the USA." Remember, it's still made my slaves.

Wow! They have an exclusive contract for all American flags made in America? And such a terrible thing not to pay murderers and rapists union wages. IT'S A TRAVESTY!

Re:Where do inmates get money for calls?

[uncqual]

Making social phone calls is a privilege, not a right, in prison. It's not a "basic". Food is a basic, air is a basic, basic medical care is a basic. Social phone calls are not a basic, Snicker's bars are not a basic, TVs in cell are not a basic.