Lower rates for incarcerated people are here at last! April 1, 2025 marks an important day in the quest for communications justice. The FCC’s new rules apply to most of the country today.
The United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry (UCC Media Justice) has worked on just rates for incarcerated people and their families for over a decade. In many cases, predatory rates have children communicating with a parent or spouses and other family members with each other.
Over the years, UCC Media Justice vigorously (and successfully!) advocated at the Federal Communications Commission for lower rates and in Congress to give the FCC the authority it needs to act. We were proud to be the leading organization pressing for Congress to pass new legislation in 2022, the Martha Wright Reed Just & Reasonable Communications Act, which gave the Federal Communications Commission greater authority to regulate rates. The FCC adopted new rules last summer—effective for most of the country today.
We are celebrating today as the day that most incarcerated people and their families should see concrete results from the new law and the FCC’s new rules. We released a summary of the rules, prepared with the assistance of the Georgetown Law Center’s Communications & Technology Law Clinic.
“This new guide will make it easier for advocates and family members around the country to understand their rights under the law and to get the lower prices they deserve,” said Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor to UCC Media Justice. “This guide is important so that we can hold communications companies serving incarcerated people to the rules that protect consumers.”
As a result of the FCC’s new rules, prices dropped between 8 and 14 cents per minute. People incarcerated in state prisons should pay 6 cents per minute for voice calls, and even the smallest jail’s rates are now capped at 12 cents per minute. There are new caps on video communication as well.
The FCC also banned all fees! The only rate consumers should pay is the per-minute rate—nothing more. The agency also banned the hated “kickbacks” called site commissions, where phone companies pay facilities for the privilege of getting a contract and pass the costs onto incarcerated people and their loved ones.
The FCC adopted a broad definition of jail, including all immigrant detention facilities. The agency also adopted other essential consumer protections, such as the ability to see prices and terms before you sign up for an account via company websites. Plus, consumers will receive a monthly bill that explains exactly where they stand and how to get refunds.
The FCC gave some jails and prisons additional time to comply with the new rate caps, but not the other rules—and those rate cap extensions are limited. Some people began to see the new rates in January, and most people should see these savings in their wallets by April 1, 2025. The last rate extension expires on April 1, 2026. The guide contains detailed information about the FCC’s extensions.
You can read the complete guide on these new rules below or download it here:
Guide to New Low Rates and Consumer Protections for Incarcerated People 4-1-2025 Final (2)