UCC Offers Resources as Prison Phone Rates Come Down
For over ten years, a coalition of organizations and individuals has been asking the FCC to lower the costs that families and friends were forced to pay to stay in contact with persons who were incarcerated in prisons and detention centers. Last year, we finally won! The FCC’s new rate caps took effect on February 11. The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, UCC general minister and president, was among those who participated in a rally at the FCC in November 2012, calling on the agency to take action on predatory phone rates. Black said he was happy that more than 10 years of advocacy have paid off. “Now we see the result, and it’s a day to celebrate.”
We’ve prepared a summary of the FCC’s regulations, answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and a guide entitled
How to File a Complaint at the FCC for Prison Phone Call Charges that are Too High.
In addition, in late January the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries solicited more than 600 signatures on a petition asking the FCC to address exorbitant rates charged for local calls to prisoners. Click here for more information.