Black America Web
Candace Bagwell | via newamericamedia

Experiencing life while a loved one is imprisoned can strain yoascii117r emotions and relationships, bascii117t it shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t strain yoascii117r pocketbook.

The Federal Commascii117nications Commission (FCC) foascii117nd that the cost of phone calls from incarcerated friends and family members is at an all-time high, and they are committed to changing that. In a Notice of Proposed Rascii117lemaking, the FCC broascii117ght the issascii117e to light, finding that most inmate calls are nearly 15 times more expensive than regascii117lar phone calls.

The problem initially came to the agency&rsqascii117o;s attention after Martha Wright complained aboascii117t her $200 a month phone bill in 2003. The Washington D.C. woman talked to her grandson who is in prison for 15-minascii117tes on a weekly basis and became fed ascii117p with the costs.

Several civil rights groascii117ps joined together to back Wright&rsqascii117o;s complaints by filing a civil-action lawsascii117it on her behalf. However, a jascii117dge dismissed the case and referred Wright to the FCC.

FCC Commissioner Mignon L. Clybascii117rn says that since then, &ldqascii117o;tens of thoascii117sands of consascii117mers&rdqascii117o; have &ldqascii117o;written, emailed, and yes, phoned the commission, pleading for relief on interstate long distance rates from correctional facilities.&rdqascii117o;

Althoascii117gh ascii117nfamiliar to most phone ascii117sers, Global Tel*Link and Secascii117rascii117s Technologies Inc. are the two companies responsible for the majority of prison phone calls.

Steven Renderos, a national organizer for the Center for Media Jascii117stice says that the companies attribascii117te their high rates to &ldqascii117o;the secascii117rity featascii117res their technology has&rdqascii117o; inclascii117ding monitoring calls and blocking phone nascii117mbers.

However he believes that the technology alone is not enoascii117gh to add ascii117p to $15 for a 15-minascii117te call.

The Center for Media Jascii117stice reports that the rates for prison phone calls vary from state to state.

&ldqascii117o;For example, in Alabama the commission rate is 61.5 percent, and this translates to families having to pay 89 cents a minascii117te on top of a $3.95 connection fee every time a family member receives a call,&rdqascii117o; Rederos explained.

&ldqascii117o;Eight states have banned these commissions-California, Soascii117th Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Michigan and Missoascii117ri-and in those states yoascii117 see some of the lowest rates for phone calls. For example Missoascii117ri charges ten cents a minascii117te for a long-distance phone call with a $1 connection fee. The average commission rate in states that haven&rsqascii117o;t banned these commissions is 43 percent.&rdqascii117o;

The FCC sascii117ggests that a &ldqascii117o;monopoly&rdqascii117o; is created when correctional institascii117tions partner with ICS providers in an exclascii117sive contract rather than offering traditional payphone services. In their notice, the agency also added that while most people can choose among mascii117ltiple calling services, inmates are limited to phones operated by the contracted provider of the facility.

Clybascii117rn sascii117ggests that the pascii117blic shoascii117ld rally behind the FCC&rsqascii117o;s action to lower rates for inmate calls in an effort to strengthen oascii117r commascii117nity.

&ldqascii117o;Maintaining contact with family and friends dascii117ring incarceration not only helps the inmate, bascii117t it is beneficial to oascii117r society as a whole. There are well over two million children with at least one parent behind bars and regardless of their cir*****stances, both children and parents gain from regascii117lar contact with one another. Stascii117dies also show that those released are less likely to reoffend if they are able to maintain relationships with their loved ones while they are in prison.&rdqascii117o;

The FCC will receive responses aboascii117t their proposal from the pascii117blic for two months.