Prison Phone Providers Seek Fee Waiver on Calls Amid Coronavirus

As prisoners increase their reliance on phone visits during the new coronavirus, telecommunications companies are asking the FCC to waive a fee on inmates’ interstate and international calls.

The push by Securus Technologies LLC and Network Communications International Corp. highlights a years-long policy debate at the Federal Communications Commission over how to rein in prison call rates.

The phone providers must pay a fee equal to 20% of revenue from every interstate and international prison call to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund. The fund subsidizes phone and broadband service for low-income Americans, schools, telehealth and rural areas. The providers pass ...