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¢ to 22¢ 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¢ to 25¢ 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. Securus Technologies CEO Richard Smith argued that confusion about the rate caps could cause "chaos and confusion" in prisons, threatening security.
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.
Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai, who voted against the rate caps that were supported by the commission's Democratic majority, hailed the decision.
"The ruling comes on the heels of the latest judicial reversal of the FCC in this proceeding," Pai said yesterday. "Just two weeks ago, that same court stayed the rate regulations that the agency sought to impose on inmate calling services. Nonetheless, the Commission issued a Public Notice claiming that these regulations—and specifically, their application to intrastate rates—would take effect anyway. The court's decision yesterday cut this end-run short."
The FCC's Democrats say the caps are needed because in some extreme cases, prison phone calls can cost $14 per minute.
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